Bigfoot and the Stinkbug

When two Hairon children are captured within the Human realm, a Stinkbug led group must rescue them before they are transformed into just a large batch of scientific specimens.

 

          Big Foot and the Stinkbug

     By Allan Cook

 

Prologue

    History, urban legend and pop culture are replete with examples of objects and living things that are seen and then disappear. People go to great lengths to try to explain these occurrences but they forever remain unexplained.

    The explanation is that these things live in the Bewitched Realm and humans simply do not have access to that realm. There exist a great number of portals that connect the two realms but these portals allow travel from the Bewitched Realm to ours but not the other way around.

    The Bewitched Realm was created by God at the same time our world was created. Being that human beings are incapable of understanding God’s will, the reason for its creation will forever remain a mystery. For the most part, the human race is actually ignorant that it even exists.

    The Bewitched Realm underwent some growing pains early on that ended with God placing it under the rule of a praying mantis named Mantodea. Depending on your personal point of view, Mantodea was either blessed with or condemned to eternal life so that the continuity of rule over the realm wall forever be in his hands.

    The reasons beings from this realm make occasional incursions into the human realm are numerous but most fall under two broad categories. These categories are curiosity and disobedience.

      One of the groups that reside on the Bewitched Realm is the Hairons. The inhabitants of the Human Realm call the Big Foot.

 

Chapter One

 

    “What are you two up to?” asked Molly Sunshine. She was speaking to her son Heron and daughter Vita.

    Together they gave their usual response, “Nothing mom.”

    This was of, of course, not the case. Heron and Vita were two very curious Hairon children. Heron was the older of the two at thirteen years. Vita was only a year younger but much more advanced both physically and mentally. Even at these young ages they stood well over six feet tall and weighed in excess of three hundred pounds. There entire bodies were covered in long, coarse, dark brown hair. Heron had the hair on his head cut very short, perhaps one-inch long. Vita had the hair on her face cut even shorter than that and had the long hair on her head dyed blue. In a culture where being a free spirit was not encouraged they were an anachronism.

    “Seriously,” Mollie warned them sternly. “I don't want you two causing any trouble.”

    “Oh mom!” whined Vita. “We’re bored as bored can be.”

    “Really mom!” argued Heron. “There must be something fun to do around here!”

     “I saw a few of your friends heading for the woods a few minutes ago. Why don’t you two try to catch up with them and see what they're up to?” Mollie suggested.

     “I suppose that’s better than hanging around here, staring at each other!” Heron agreed. “Let’s go Vita!” Heron and Vita headed for the woods.

    “And stay away from the portal!” Millie warned sharply.

    Neither Heron nor Vita acknowledged their mother’s warning. After all, she tells them that every time they go near the woods. Nope, they just kept walking away. As they walked, Vita whispered to Heron, “I have a better idea.”

    “What?” Heron asked with excitement.

    “Shhhhh!” Vita admonish still whispering. “Keep it down, I’ll tell you later,”

    “Ok,” Heron whispered back, smiling a conspiratorial grin.

     Their friends had no particular destination in mind so they were just slowly strolling through the woods. Heron and Vita quickly caught up with them.

    “Where’s everyone going?” Heron asked.

    Their friends just looked at one another and had no answer.

    “This doing nothing every day is boring!” Vita exclaimed. “I’m going to go crazy if I don’t do something exciting!”

    “You’re right Vita,” one of her friends agreed. “The problem with that is that Mantodea likes things dull and mundane so our leaders keep it that way.”

    Everyone agreed that the chance of running into any excitement was not very good so the all kept walking. Even though it was very exciting in Hairon land, it was comfortable. The weather was nice year round, there was plenty of food and drink and you were free to pursue your dreams. They may not look it but Hairons are very intelligent and creative.

    Suddenly Vita stopped and shouted, “I’ve got it!”

    Heron rushed over to her and asked, “Are you alright Vita?

    “I’ve never been better! “she replied with a great big grin “I know where we can find some excitement. Outside the portal!”

    Everyone began to speak at once. There was a cacophony of voices. Some were agreeing with Vita while others were trying to explain just how bad an idea that was. Heron was particularly set against this dangerous idea. In the end, Vita’s strength of personality won out and everyone agreed to go with her to the portal.

    The nearest portal was about a quarter of a mile from where they currently were. “Follow me!” Vita told the group. “Let’s go have some fun!” That said, Vita set off for the nearest portal with her friends and brother following. Several were still not convinced that this was anything but a poor decision but they bent to peer pressure and went right along with the others.

    They were at the portal in less than ten minutes. All the portals were supposed to be guarded to keep Hairons from passing through them. The truth is that the Hairon had such comfortable lives that they had little interest in doing anything that might jeopardize that. . As a matter of fact, it was such a rare occurrence for anyone to leave that security had become, somewhat of, a joke. It was not uncommon for the guards to either not show up at all or to leave early. Truth be told, that was the rule, not the exception. It was not surprising that they found the portal unguarded

    With no one guarding it, opening the portal was no problem at all. All Vita had to do was place the palm of her hand on a sensor pad located next to the. The pad was rather large because Hairons have much larger hands that humans. Vita placed her hand on the sensor and it immediately recognized her as a Hairon and unlocked. With a downward push on the portal handle, the portal swung wide open.

    Vita hesitated the briefest of time and then scurried through the portal into the human domain. She turned back to the portal to see everyone just standing in the opening, watching her. “What are you waiting for?” Vita challenged, staring right at Heron. Heron wasn’t about to let his sister do something this dangerous alone so he quickly joined her. “Come on!” she shouted to the rest of the group. “Get out here!” she ordered. The others just stood in the portal shaking their heads. They were much too afraid to leave their area.

    Vita stared at them with look of utter disdain then turned and started walking farther into the human domain. Vita took two more steps when, without warning, there was a loud, metallic snap! Vita Fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Heron rushed to her side and saw that her left leg was caught between two pieces of metal. Vita laid there in agony, trying to pull the metal jaws open to release her leg. “Help me Heron!” she screamed. They tried together to pull the jaws open without success.

    “I’m going to go get some help!” Heron told Vita.

    “Yes!” she agreed loudly. “Get some help!”

     Heron turned back to the portal just in time to see the door close and all signs that it was ever there disappear.

     “They closed the portal Vita!” Heron yelled just as he was struck in the right thigh with a dart. He looked back at Vita and saw that she had three identical darts sticking out of her back. “Whack! Whack!” Two more hit in in the back and everything went black.

    “We’re going to be rich!” Norton shouted too Lyman with glee. “Nobody ever caught even one of these things and now we got two Big Foots!”

 

Chapter two

 

    Norton and Lyman Hardy aren’t the brightest people in the world but they do know when they have something good going for them. Capturing Heron and Vita definitely qualified as something good going for them.

    They were born, two years apart, in the small town of Mossy Rock in Washington State with the Cascade Mountains as their playground. To say that they were learning to live in the wilderness from the day they were born might seem to be hyperbole but, in their case, it is true. Their parents eked out a living through hunting, fishing and trapping and had to take their boys with them wherever they went. As they walked through the town with their children riding on their backs, attached to Native American cradle boards they endured much light hearted ribbing and even more admiration.

    Mossy Rock’s population was approximately seven hundred and everyone knew everyone else. Once the boys outgrew the cradle boards they would often be cared for by family and friends while their parents walked their trap lines. It was during these times that they first starting hearing stories about Bigfoot sightings and encounters. The more they heard, the more they wanted to know. Neither boy had attended school regularly. Actually, they were rarely able to attend school and finally quit going entirely, it was this intense desire to learn about these creatures that finally led them to seek out someone who would teach them to read. Being able to read opened up new avenues of information that had previously been closed to them. Their zeal quickly grew into an obsession to be the first people to capture Bigfoot.

    Their analysis of all the information they had amassed over the years pointed them to one place where they were confident that they would be achieve their goal. They bought a second hand dart gun and several leg hold traps and began a sporadic vigil of the spot they had deduced. They would like to have spent more time on the project but they had to make a living. Just as their parents had, they too eked out a living from the land.

    “Tie that one's legs and hands while I tie this one up,” Norton told Lyman. “Tie them tight because these things look awfully strong!”

    “I can’t believe how big these things are!” Lyman exclaimed.

   Once they had them tied securely, Lyman went into town to borrow a horse while Norton stood watch and built a travois to haul their catch out of the woods.

 

Chapter three

    “What did you do?” Winda screamed at Elson. “Vita and Heron are out there!”

    “Those humans have got them and if I hadn't shut the portal they would have gotten us too!” Elson screamed back.

    All of the Hairons started talking at once again. Some taking Elson’s side, some taking Winda’s side and the rest bemoaning that they were there to being with.

     Then a voice was heard above all the rest. “Quiet down!” it shouted. “I can’t even hear myself think with all your yelling!” The voice was that of Matti, the youngest and, arguably, the smartest and wisest of the group. “There is nothing constructive that will come out of everyone blaming everyone else. What we have to do is decide what to do next.”

    Everyone then started murmuring about how right she was and how arguing wasn’t going to help.

    “That’s enough!” Matti shouted in exasperation. “I'm going for help!”

     As she walked away she could hear the others talking back and forth about what they thought of what Matti was doing. As she walked, she tried to decide exactly what she was going to do. She finally determined that the best thing to do was tell Vita’s and Heron’s parents what had happened.

    Matti’s pace quickened the closer she got to the Sunshine residence. By the time she reached the front walkway she was sprinting. She raced up to the door, rang the bell and started yelling, “Mr. Sunshine!”

    It didn’t take long for Mr. Sunshine to answer the door. When he saw Matti standing there, out of breath he became concerned for her. He was afraid that she might be hurt. “Matti, are you hurt?” he asked as he helped her into the house.

    She pulled away, looked up at him and blurted out, “It's not me, it's Vita and Heron!”

    Mr. Sunshine grabbed her by both of her arms and turned her towards him, “What do you mean!” he demanded to know.

    Just then Mrs. Sunshine joined them and saw that her husband had a death grip on Matti. “What are you doing to her?” she shouted while she tried to pull him away from her.

    Mr. Sunshine turned on his wife and shouted, “She said there is something wrong with Vita and Heron!”

    Mrs. Sunshine's demeanor quickly changed as she turned to Matti and pressed her for information. “What's wrong?” she demanded.

    Faced with two agitated adults pressing her for information, Matti was addled and at a loss for words.

    Still Mrs. Sunshine, becoming more distressed by the moment, kept at Matti. “Where are Vita and Heron?” she raged.

    Matti turned to Mr. Sunshine, hoping to find a friendly face. The grimace on his face told her that she had better deliver her message and get out of there. Once she began to speak, the words just spurted out.

“They went through the portal and the humans shot them with darts and caught them in a trap!”

    The anger Mr. and Mrs. Sunshine were feeling quickly changed to concern and near panic. “Where?” Mr. Sunshine bellowed.

    “What portal?” Mrs. Sunshine

demanded.

    Matti just pointed in the direction of the portal and ran away.  

    “Come back here!” Mrs. Sunshine screamed. She turned to her husband only to find that he was already running toward the portal Matti had pointed to. She forgot about Matti and ran after her husband.

    Mr. Sunshine arrived at the portal only a few seconds ahead of his wife. The friends were still standing there staring at the portal. “Where’s Vita and Heron?” he shouted.

    No one said a word, they just pointed at the portal.

    Mr. Sunshine rushed over to the hand sensor and the portal opened. As he rushed through the open portal he called back to Mrs. Sunshine, “Wait here!”  In a frenzy, he searched the area. The only thing he found was an empty leg hold trap with a few, dark brown hairs stuck in it. “No!” he roared, falling to his knees in anguish. He knelt there for several minutes with fists clenched and hatred.in his eyes. Unsure what to do next, he stood up and turned to return to the portal. As he turned, Mrs. Sunshine passed him going the opposite direction.

    When Mrs. Sunshine got to the leg hold trap, she picked it up and in a fury pulled the jaws apart and, giving out a grief stricken howl, snapped it in half. Mr. Sunshine ran to her side. He hugged her tightly and she began to calm down. As they embraced, he looked over her shoulder and noticed two deep grooves in the ground, leading away from the area. He broke the embrace and examined the ruts a little closer. Between them he saw hoof prints of a horse. Realizing what he was seeing, he knew that he was not going to find his children around there.

    By this time Mrs. Sunshine had completely broken down and was sitting on the ground sobbing. He helped he to her feet and led her back through the portal. They both knew that the only chance of ever seeing their children again lay in the hands of Mantodea.

    

Chapter four

 

    In all honesty, neither Norton nor Lyman ever really believed that they would catch a Bigfoot. Their plan consisted only of setting out a couple leg hold traps and shooting whatever they caught with a tranquilizer gun. Having two live, sedated, Bigfoots, strapped to a travois, being pulled by a borrowed horse, at the edge of the forest, completely overwhelmed both of them. It was times like this that they really missed their parents.

    “What are we going to do with these things?” Norton asked Lyman.

“I don’t know.” Lyman replied. “They’re going to be waking up pretty soon and I don’t think that those ropes are going to hold them!”

    They sat there trying to come up with a plan. “Let's Take them to the Sheriff,” Norton suggested.

    “No,” replied Lyman. “There might be a Bigfoot season and we don’t have a license to hunt them,”

    “You’re right,” Norton agreed. “Smart!”

    Suddenly Lyman leapt to his feet, “I know what we can do!” he exclaimed. “Let’s take them to Doc Miller. He’s the smartest person we know and he’ll know what to do,”

    “Better yet I’ll go get him and bring him here,” Norton suggested.

    “Good idea,” Lyman agreed. “I’ll watch them while you’re gone.”

    “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Norton assured his brother and then headed for Doc Miller’s house.

    Doc Miller’s house was only a mile away and Lyman made it there in less than fifteen minutes. When he saw the house, he started running toward it.

    As he got closer, the Doc’s two Springer Spaniels started barking wildly. Doc Miller rushed out of the house to see what was upsetting his dogs so badly.

    “Doc Miller!” shouted Norton.

    Doc Miller saw Norton running and took a few steps toward him. “What’s wrong” he shouted back.

    Lyman sprinted the last hundred yards and finally reached Doc Miller. As he stood there, bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath, Lyman was able to force out the words, “We caught Bigfoot.”

    As Lyman continued to catch his breath, Mrs. Miller and Woody Harper came out of the house to see what all the commotion was.

    Woody Harper was the owner and proprietor of the Mossy Rock General Store and a good friend of Doc Miller. He just happened to be visiting.

    “What are you talking about Norton? Doc Miller asked.

    Having caught his breath, Norton was now able to talk. “Lyman and I caught two Bigfoots!”

    “What? How?” Doc Miller stammered, not knowing how to respond to this news.

    “About two miles from here, in the forest,” Norton explained. “We set out some leg hold traps and one of them stepped in one. Then we shot them with our tranquilizer gun!”

     Not sure whether to believe him or not, Doc Miller quickly decided that it was better to be safe than sorry, “Take me to them,” he ordered.

    “I’m going with you,” Woody Harper half suggested and half demanded.

    “Let me get my medical bag,” Doc Miller told them. “They might be hurt,”

    With the Doctor gone, Woody told Norton, “If what you say is true, we can do some business.”

    “What do you mean?” Norton asked, a little confused by the suggestion.

    “If the Sheriff finds out that you caught a Bigfoot, you could get in big trouble,” Woody told him. “I don’t want to see you boys get in trouble so I will give you $500 for them and take them off your hands. We will tell the sheriff that I caught them, He’s my friend and won’t make trouble for me.”

    “That’s a great idea!” Norton exclaimed. “We thought that might happen and that’s why I came to Doc Miller. We figured that he would know what to do.”

    “We can’t tell Doc Miller about our deal,” Woody warned.

    “He knows that we caught the Bigfoot,” Norton said with a worried look on his face.

    “We’ll say I caught them and it will be three against one,” Woody replied.

      Having retrieved his medical bag, Doc Miller rejoined them, “Let’s get going!”

    Hurriedly, Norton led Doc Miller and Woody Harper back to where he had left Lyman and the two Bigfoots. As they got closer, they could see that there were actually two Bigfoots tied to a travois and they quickened their pace.

    “I can’t believe my eyes!” Doc Miller exclaimed.

    Woody looked at Norton and gave him a conspiratorial wink. Norton understood and nodded his head.

    Norton took Lyman aside and explained the deal he had made as Doc Miller examined the two Bigfoots for injuries, Lyman agreed.

    The Bigfoots were starting to breath deeper and faster, showing early signs of waking up from the sedation.

    “Maybe you should give them another sedative before they wake up,” Woody suggested to Doc Miller. “If they wake up, these ropes won’t hold them and there is no telling how they will react.”

    “You’re right Woody,” Doc Miller agreed. “We can’t keep them sedated forever though. Where can we take them that they won’t be a danger?”

    “I’ve still got that steel cage I kept that bear in,” Woody told them. “We can put them in there. That should hold them.”

    For several years Woody had a large Grizzly Bear on display outside of his store to attract customers. The bear died about a year ago.

    “That sounds like our only option right now,” Doc Miller agreed. “Let’s take them there before they wake up again.”

   The trip to the General Store took a little over an hour and once there the Bigfoot were moved into the cage and allowed to recover from the sedation. The cage was held firmly closed by a large padlock. Woody Harper had the only key.

    Once the Bigfoots were secured in the cage, Doc Miller gave them one more cursory examination and went back home.

    With the Doctor gone, Woody paid Norton and Lyman $500 for the Bigfoots and reiterated that they were to tell whomever asked that he had captured the Bigfoots.

    Lyman and Norton were relieved to have gotten rid of their problem so easily and went home.

    An hour or so later, Vita and Heron were fully recovered from the sedation. They both took turns trying to bend the bars of the cage but it was too strong. Finally, they gave up. Vita laid down and began to, quietly, cry while Heron stood there waiting for an opportunity to escape to present itself.

 

Chapter five

    

    Mantodea is a praying mantis unlike any other. During creation itself he and all the other praying mantises had a falling out with God, the creator. It was only through Mantodea’s selflessness that the entire species was not eliminated. God was so impressed with him that he made him his Emissary on Earth and with the title, the responsibility of assuring that peace ruled the day.

    Mantodea was also allowed to retain certain qualities that all praying mantises possessed up to the time of their clash with God. These qualities were supreme intelligence, profound empathy and the gift of prophecy. So that Mantodea could implement their covenant, God provided him with the gift, or curse, of eternal life.

    Upon returning home, the Sunshines immediately set forth with their plan to ask Mantodea to take action that would result in the return of their children. First and foremost, they had to find out where Mantodea reside sand how to get there. Frantic to obtain this information, they went door to door asking anyone and everyone they had information about where Mantodea presided over life in the Bewitched Woods. Their efforts were fruitless. As night began to fall, they returned to their home in a state of complete exhaustion and nothing to show for their efforts

    Mrs. Sunshine collapsed on the sofa tried to keep any idea of what her children must be suffering at that very moment from entering her thoughts. These efforts brought tears to her eyes.

    Mr., Sunshine sat down in his, over-stuffed, easy chair and just stared straight ahead trying to come up with some idea of how to proceed. As darkness descended, he turned on the lamp sitting on the end table next to the chair.

    Out of nowhere he heard a loud buzzing sound heading toward him. He felt a very slight breeze move his hair as something swooped by his nose. A second or so later he heard a “thunk” as something hit the lampshade next to him. He looked at the shade and there was nothing on it. He then looked at the inner surface of the shade and saw the oddest thing sitting there, stationery. It was about a half of an inch long and shaped a little like a wide tipped arrowhead. Its rear tapered gently to a point and its head was shaped like the spout of a jug. It was a dark brownish color and was speckled with multiple shades of light brown spots. It had six legs and two antennae like projections coming out of the end of the jug spout. He’d never seen anything like it and if the circumstances had been less dire, he would have laughed at its appearance.

“What the heck is that?” he mumbled to himself.

    To is great surprise the thing answered, “OK, I’m a Stink Bug. Are you happy now?”

    “A Stink Bug?” Mr. Sunshine repeated, trying to make sure he heard correctly.

    “Yup, you heard right,” the bug replied. “I’m a Stink Bug.”

    Mr. Sunshine was now intrigued by this little thing sitting on his lampshade. “Why are you called a Stink Bug?” he asked.

    “Do me any harm and you’ll find out,” the Stink Bug warned.

    “Alright, just relax!” Mr. Sunshine quickly responded. “I'm not going to do you any harm. Do you have a name?”

    The Stink Bug looked up at him with a silly grin on its face.

    “No!” Mr. Sunshine exclaimed. “Don’t tell me.”

    “Yup,” the Stink Bug confirmed. “My name is Stinky!”

    Mr. Sunshine couldn't hold back his laughter and started chuckling quietly so his wife wouldn’t hear. “I needed a good laugh,” he told Stinky.

    “I know what you mean,” Stinky told him.

    “You have no idea!” Mr. Sunshine countered.

    “I know all about what happened to your children,” Stinky responded.

   Mr. Sunshine was surprised to hear this. “You do?” he asked. “How do you know?”

    Stinky didn’t answer that question but, instead, told Mr. Sunshine that he also knew that he and his wife were trying to find out how they could get to Mantodea.

    “That’s right,” Mr. Sunshine acknowledged with a very pained expression on his face. “We want to ask him to help us get our children back but no one around here has any idea where Mantodea lives.”

    “That’s why I’m here,” Stink confessed. “I know where Mantodea lives and I can show you the way.”

    A little perturbed by Stinky’s reticence, Mr. Sunshine asked, “Why didn’t you just say so?”

    Caught a little off guard by Mr. Sunshine’s response, Stinky didn’t know what to say. He just stood there with his head down. After a few moments the silence between them became disconcerting to him and he replied in a quiet, apologetic tone, “Nobody ever talks to Stink Bugs and I was enjoying our conversation. I am really sorry,”

    Mr. Sunshine could hear the sincerity and pain in Stinky’s voice and sought to put this behind them. “Don’t worry about it Stinky. I’m not mad at you.”

   Stinky looked up and replied, “You’re not?”

    “No,” Mr. Sunshine answered. “I’m just upset about my children.”

    Stinky perked up and exclaimed, “Then let’s go talk to Mantodea and see if he can help you get them back!”

    “Millie!” he said shaking his wife. “Wake up!”

    Millie Sunshine woke with a start and sat up. “What is it Walter?”

   Not even trying to contain his excitement Walter Sunshine loudly proclaimed, “This Stink Bug. I mean, Stinky here is going to take us to see Mantodea!”

    Millie jumped up and, her voice shaking with excitement, shouted “Let’s go!”

    “We'll have to wait until morning,” Walter told her.

    Suddenly she caught site of the thing on the lampshade and, pointing at it, yelled, “What’s that thing?”

     Stinky looked up at her and replied, “I’m a Stink Bug, OK?”

    

Chapter six

    

    A crowd was starting to gather around the cage containing Vita and Heron. People were pointing at them and laughing. Neither Vita nor Heron spoke English so they didn’t understand the words. They did understand the message though.

    Heron held Vita close to him as they both cowered as far from the crowd as the cage would allow them. Occasionally someone would approach the cage and jab them with a stick. The first couple of times this happened, they swatted at the stick or tried to grab it, only to have it pulled away before they could. This made the crowd laugh even louder. Now they just held each other tighter when poked or prodded. They were trying not to cry but after a few more jabs couldn’t hold the tears back anymore. When Hairon’s cry, they snorted. The crowd found this most entertaining.

    Norton and Lyman stood on the sidewalk. across the street from where the cages were and were watching what went on. At one-point Vita made eye contact with Lyman and the look in her eyes made his heart ache. “Why are they doing that?” he asked Norton.

    Norton was unable to watch anymore and had his back turned. “I don’t know Lyman!” he exclaimed. “We should never have sold them to Mr. Harper!”

    “Let’s go tell him that we want to undo the deal and give him his money back,” Lyman suggested.

    Norton agreed and the left the area and went looking for Woody Harper.

    They didn’t have to look very far because the quickly found him in his store. There was a small crowd gathered around him and he was telling them how he had caught the two Bigfoots. When he saw the two brothers enter the store he could tell that they were very upset and he started to worry that they were going to try to contradict him and take credit for the capture.

    “What can I do for you boys?” Woody inquired as he approached the Hardy brothers.

    Nervously Lyman told him that they had made a mistake and shouldn’t have sold him the Bigfoots. Reaching into his pocket, Lyman took out the five hundred dollars they had been paid. “Here’s your money back,” he told him, handing Woody the money. “We're going to let them go.”

    Woody looked them both, smiled and then started to laugh. After a short while he regained his composure and told them, “First of all, a deal’s a deal and I wouldn’t give them back, even if I could.”

    The boys looked at him with confusion, “What do you mean, even if you could?” Norton asked.

    “That’s the second thing,” Woody responded. “I’ve already made a deal with the University. They're going to give me ten thousand dollars each for them. So you see, you can’t afford them.”

    “What are they going to do with them?” Lyman demanded to know.

    Woody started laughing again and said satirically, “Quite frankly I don't know or care. They’ll probably cut ‘em up to see what makes ‘em tick.”

    Lyman and Norton looked at Woody and then at each other, horrified by what they had just heard.

    “No!” Lyman protested.

    “They can’t do that!” Norton added.

    “They can do anything they want after they pay me my money,” Woody replied with a sneer.

    Confused and upset, Lyman and Norton ran from the store. When they got outside they stood there looking at the crowd jeering at the two Bigfoots. Finally, Lyman asked, “What are we going to do? We can’t let them kill those things!”

     “Maybe the sheriff can stop them?” Norton suggested.

     “Good idea!” Lyman agreed. “Let’s go ask him.”

     The sheriff’s office was just a block away and it only took them a couple of minutes to get there. The rushed inside and found the sheriff sitting at his desk, with his feet up. He was reading a copy of the Olympia, Washington newspaper, the Olympian. “Sheriff Howard!” exclaimed Norton. “We need your help!”

    The sheriff looked at them briefly then returned to reading his newspaper,

    Neither of the boys knew what to say or do so they just stood there quietly, waiting for the sheriff to respond. After two or three minutes, the sheriff folded up the newspaper, put it down and took his feet down from his desk. He looked at Lyman, then at Norton, and finally asked. “What can I do for you boys?”

    As if a dam had just broken, they both started talking at once.

    “One at a time!” Sheriff Howard ordered loudly.

    Lyman stopped talking and Norton told the sheriff why there were there. “Sheriff Howard! Mr. Harper sold those Bigfoots we caught to the university and they are going to cut them up. You gotta stop them!”

    “The Bigfoots you caught?” Sheriff Howard asked incredulously. “Woody caught those Bigfoots and can do whatever he wants with them.”

    “No!” Norton protested. “We caught them and sold them to him.”

    Sheriff Howard stood up and looked menacingly at the two boys standing in front of his desk. “So you’re calling my friend Woody a liar?”

   “No!” both Lyman and Norton shouted immediately.

    “Sounded to me like you were,” Sheriff Howard countered. “Then you’re telling me that I don’t know what’s going on in my own town?”

    Again the boys shouted, “No!”

    “Maybe you two had better get out of here before I think of some reason to arrest you both,” Sheriff Howard threatened.

    The boys rushed out of the sheriff's office, almost tripping over one another.

 

Chapter seven

 

    The sun had barely risen above the horizon but Millie and Walter Sunshine were ready to leave on their journey to talk to Mantodea.

    Stinky had spent the night sleeping at the base of the lamp but was now wide awake and also ready to get going. “We are going to be heading northwest until we get to the river. Then we’ll follow the river west until we get to Mantodea,” he told them.

    “How long will it take to get there?” Walter inquired.

    “We should be there early tomorrow morning,” Stinky told him.

    “The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get there,” Millie interjected.

     “OK, then let’s get going!” Stinky exclaimed and flew up to Walter's shoulder.

    Walter took a couple steps towards the door and stopped. “Pee yoo!” he bellowed. “You do Stink! You can’t ride there!”

    “Where can I ride then? I can’t fly all the way there!” Stinky complained.

     “When you two figure it out you can catch up to me!” Millie yelled and stomped out the door.

    “I'll ride on the top of your head,” Stinky suggested. “As long as you're moving the smell will get blown away behind you.”

   “Alright,” Walter agreed. “We can try that. Now let's catch up with Millie before gets much farther ahead.”

    Millie purposely hadn’t gone very far so Walter and Stinky caught up with her very quickly. After all, she didn’t know where she was going. She just wasn’t in the mood to hear any arguing this morning. They walked at a steady pace, taking about fifteen minutes to cover a mile and seemed to be making good time. That is until Walter stopped and moaned, “Oh no!”

    Having no idea why Walter suddenly Stinky asked, “What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”

    “Yes something is wrong!” Walter declared. He was becoming very agitated by something.

    “We are going to have to pass through Holarian country.” Walter decried.

    The Holarians are a race of rather small creatures. They weren’t particularly strong nor were they particularly smart but they did exist in great numbers and they were very aggressive. Prior to Mantodea bringing about peace and civility to the Bewitched Woods, the Holarians were marauders. They would easily overwhelm any foe with their numbers and take what they needed. To the best of Stinky’s knowledge, though, since Mantodea had been given supreme power over the woods, the Holarians have been quite docile.

    “That’s right,” Stinky confirmed. “Is that a problem for you?”

    “It’s a problem for all of us!” Walter declared loudly, shrugging his shoulders and throwing his hands in the air. “They won’t let us through!”

    Millie used this opportunity to sit down and rest as Walter and Stinky continued to discuss the problem.

    “Of course they will.” Stinky argued. “They are a very kind and peaceful people.”

    “Maybe to you and others they are but they hate Hairons and we hate them!” Walter argued back.

    Stinky was very surprised to hear this and asked, “Since when?”

    “Since forever as far as I know,” Walter answered.

    “If what you say is true, we can’t get to Mantodea,” Stinky told Walter.

    “Why not!” asked Walter. “We can go around.”

    “No we can’t,” Stinky informed him. “There territory goes all the way to the border of the Bewitched Woods to the south and extends northward up to a particularly savage swamp. No, we have to go through their territory.”

    “I’m telling you, they won’t let us,” Walter stated definitively.

    ”The only thing we can do is ask them when we get there,” Stinky declared even more definitively.

    “Are you two finished?” Millie asked.

    “Why?” Walter asked. “Are you in a hurry to get chased by a horde of Holarians?”

    “I think Stinky is right,” Millie replied. “The only way to find out what they are going to do is to ask them.”

    Just then an idea flashed into Stinky’s mind. “I’ve got an idea!” he exclaimed. “Why don’t I go alone and ask them?”

    “That is a great idea!” Walter agreed.

    “That’s right,” added Mollie, “They don’t have any problem with you? Do they?”

    “No!” Stinky quickly responded. “As far as I knew, they didn’t have a problem with anyone. Why are they mad at Hairons?”

    Walter contemplated the question for several minutes. The grimaces and pained expressions on his face proclaimed the fact that he was deep in thought. Finally, he said, “I have no idea. I don’t remember anyone ever telling me or anyone I know why we are feuding.”

    Stinky rolled his eyes and summed up the situation, “So the Holarians are going to keep you from getting to Mantodea and, therefore, hinder our ability to get your children back from the humans and you have no idea why.”

    Walter looked at Stinky and then at the ground and said, softly, “Yes.”

    “Wait here,” Stinky ordered,

    “Where are you going?” Millie and Walter asked together.

    “I’ll be back in a little while,” is all that Stinky told them before he flew off.

    “Where is he going?” Mollie asked Walter.

    “We’ll just have to wait here until he comes back and tells us,” Walter replied.

    “Oh no I don’t!” Mollie exclaimed with righteous indignation. “No stink bug is going to keep me from rescuing my children!”

    “I don’t think he is trying to keep us from rescuing Vita and Heron,” Walter argued. “He is trying to help us.”

    “So he just takes off and leaves us here for, who knows, how long,” Mollie hollered. “Every minute we aren’t moving is another minute our children are suffering who knows what.”

    “We just have to trust him,” Walter argued weakly.

    “I don’t trust anyone when my children are at risk!” she continued to yell, “I will find Mantodea myself. Are you coming with me or not?”

    “Of course I’m coming with you Mollie,” Walter agreed, seeing that it was no use debating this with her.
  “He told us that we have to get to the river and follow it north,” Mollie stated. “That is what I intend to do. I’m sure that we can find out where Mantodea is from someone along the way.” With that said, she headed for the river.

    “Alright Mollie but let me lead the way in case we run into trouble,” Walter demanded and took up a position ahead of her. Together they headed for the river. Mollie following Walter.

 

Chapter eight

 

    Once Lyman and Norton were outside of the Sheriff’s Office they stopped running but continued walking at a brisk pace. They wanted to get as far away as they could before the sheriff came out and arrested them. After walking a couple of blocks, they finally stopped.

    “What are we going to do now Lyman?” asked Norton.

    “Whatever we do is probably not going to be legal,” Lyman proclaimed.

    “You’re right,” Norton agreed. “No one with any authority to do anything will help us. Do you have any ideas?”

    “Yes.” Lyman replied. “I think our best bet is to go there after dark, when no one is around, and open the cage. We’ll let the Bigfoots go and they can find their way back home.”

    “There will probably be somebody guarding them at night,” Norton suggested.

    “I know,” Lyman conceded. “I’m hoping that there won’t be though.”

    “I know!” Norton exclaimed. “We can come back tonight and see if there is a guard.”

    “Great idea Norton!” Lyman responded enthusiastically. “Then we’ll know for sure if our plan will work or not.”

    Norton and Lyman hurried home to wait for night to fall so they could put their plan into action. They both fell asleep and didn't wake up until after eleven o’clock.

    Norton was the first to wake up and he did so with a start. He quickly sat up and looked out the window. Seeing that it was dark he shook his brother and shouted, “Wake up Lyman. It's late!”

    Lyman sprung out of bed not knowing what to expect. He looked over at Norton who was already putting on a black jacket. Lyman put his boots on and joined his brother. They both started covering their faces with soot from the wood burning stove in their kitchen. They covered all of their exposed skin with soot. Lyman then put on his black jacket and they both donned black watch caps. They looked at each other and were satisfied with their stealthiness.

    “Let’s go,” whispered Norton, picking up a pair of bolt cutters.

    They both tiptoed quietly out of their house and, keeping in the shadows so they wouldn't be seen. made their way towards the cage holding the two Big Foots.

    They turned the last corner and got their first glimpse of the cage. They froze in their tracks. Sitting on a chair next to the cage was a large, burly man. The recognized him as one of the men that work for Woody Harper. Lying across his lap was a double barreled, twelve-gauge shotgun.

    “Darn it,” Norton whispered to Lyman. “I was hoping he wouldn't think about putting a guard out there.”

    “He's pretty smart I guess,” replied Lyman. “We’re going to need a new plan!”

    “What's our new plan going to be?” Norton inquired.

    “I don't know,” was Lyman’s answer. “I'm all out of ideas.”

    They turned around and headed back home.

 

Chapter nine

 

    Stinky had very little trouble finding Jeffrid, the leader of the Holarians. Jeffrid lived in the only castle located in the Land of the Holarians. As castles go, this wasn’t a very large nor ornate castle.

If this word was ever going to apply to a castle, it is with this one. It was a plain castle. It didn’t have moat so it didn’t need a drawbridge. I was the picture of simplicity with only a single tower.

    Stinky flew inside of the castle and landed near a door that was being guarded by a pair of Holarians wearing pieces of armor. He figured that together what they were wearing made up one complete suit of armor. Neither guard saw Stinky land and he decided to keep it that way. He hid behind a rock while he decided what to do next.

    From behind the rock he surveyed the area and noticed that there was a crack under the door. The crack was very small but more than large enough for him to pass through, with plenty of room to spare. He kept along the wall as he slowly snuck over to the door. Once there he ducked under the door and stopped and remained hidden. From this position he was able to see into a large, brightly lit room. He was in luck; at the far end of the room he could see Jeffrid sitting on his throne. As best he could tell, Jeffrid was alone.

    In his haste to talk to Jeffrid he flew out from under the door, right up to him and landed on his shoulder.

    Jeffrid reacted immediately, “Ewwwww!” he shouted in disgust and swatted Stinky off of his shoulder.

    Stinky shot, out of control across the room, hit the wall hard and fell to the floor, He lay there stunned for a few seconds then quickly scampered out of sight. Stunned, he lay there hidden trying to regain his composure. He thought to himself, “That was really dumb Stinky!” While he was trying to decide what to do next, Jeffrid got up from his throne and left the room through a door directly behind his throne.      

    Having pulled himself together, Stinky flew over to where Jeffrid had departed and slid under the door. As he did before, he surveyed the situation before proceeding. Jeffrid was now across his bed with his feet hanging off. He whispered to himself, “Don't do anything stupid Stinky!” This time I he flew over to Jeffrid and landed on the top of the ornate headboard. He looked down at Jeffrid and calmly said, “Hello Jeffrid.”

    Hearing a voice in his bedroom surprised Jeffrid and he turned his head side to side trying to see where the voice was coming from. Not seeing anything, he jumped off the bed and began searching for the source of the disembodied voice. “Who’s there!” he shouted, demanding whoever was responsible for the voice to make themselves known.

    “Over here, on top of the headboard,” Stinky answered.

    Jeffrid looked at the headboard and saw Stinky sitting there. Confused by what he was seeing he walked closer to get a better look. “Who and what are you?” he demanded to know.

    Stinky replied, “I am a Stink Bug and my name is.”

    “Don't tell me!” Jeffrid shouted, interrupting. “It’s got to be Stinky.”

    Somewhat annoyed, Stinky responded, “It doesn’t have to be Stinky, but it is.”

    With this, Jeffrid started laughing hysterically. “That’s a riot! A Stink Bug named Stinky!”

    This went on for several minutes; Jeffrid laughing and Stinky fuming. Finally, Stinky screamed, “Stop laughing! Nothing is that funny!”

    Jeffrid’s laughter slowed down and finally stopped altogether. Once he had gotten control of himself again he apologized, “I'm sorry Stinky. That just tickled my funny bone.”

    “I'm used to it,” Stinky replied.

    “Is there a reason why you are here?” Jeffrid asked.

    “You mean beside being a comedy relief for you?” Stinky responded sarcastically.

     “I said I was sorry!” Jeffrid snapped back at Stinky.

    “You’re right, sorry,” replied Stinky. “Yes I am here for a reason.”

    “OK, tell me your reason,” Jeffrid urged.

    Stinky hesitated for a moment, not quite sure how to introduce the subject. He decided to just tell Jeffrid straight out. “I am traveling with two Hairons who are trying to get to Mantodea. They need his help because their children have been kidnapped by humans.”

    Jeffrid folded his arms in front of him, gritted his teeth and declared forcefully, “No Hairons are going to cross Holarian land for any reason!”

    Stinky expected that this was the response that he was going to get and asked, “Why not?”

    With his arms still folded and his teeth still clenched, Jeffrid declared, “The Holarians and the Hairons have been feuding for as long as anyone can remember. I'm surprised that you didn't know that.”

    “Oh, I knew that,” Stinky admitted. “What is the feud about anyway?”

    Jeffrid thought long and hard. Twisting and distorting his face and rubbing his head, he kept thinking. He thought for a good fifteen minutes and finally declared, “I don't know.” Then he quickly added, “But they must have done something really bad! Now that I know they are coming, we will be there to greet them.

    “Is there any way that I can talk you out of this?” Stinky begged.

     Jeffrid's answer was short and direct. “No,” was all he said.

    Stinky quickly decided that he had better get out of there while he still could. He ducked back under the two doors he had entered through and was in the air, flying back to where he had left Mollie and Walter.

    While Stinky was busy with Jeffrid, Mollie and Walter weren't sitting still. They

we’re preparing to cross the Holarian territory, once they reached it. They had walked about a mile towards the river when Mollie told Walter, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

    Walter knew what Mollie was going to do so he replied, “I’ll be over there, under those trees when you are finished.”

    Mollie left Walter and trudged up a small hill that they had just encountered. When she reached the top she began growling as loud as she could. She roared, over and over. The beastly sound of her voice echoed across the land.

    While Mollie was on top of the hill roaring and growling, Walter had gone over to the trees he had mentioned to Mollie, picked up a large branch he found lying nearby and starting beating on the trunk of one of the trees. The sound of him beating on the tree reverberated far and wide, “Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!”

    After about ten minutes of bellowing, Mollie returned to Walter and they waited. within a matter of minutes, Hairons started arriving from all directions. First there was ten, then twenty, then fifty, then a hundred. Still they kept coming. By the time the rallying was finished there were close to a thousand Hairons gathered around Mollie and Walter.

    Mollie addressed them. “As some of you already know, the humans have kidnapped mine and Walter’s children. In order to get them back, we are on our way to enlist the help of Mantodea. To get to Mantodea, we must cross the Holarian Territory. We all know that they are going to try to stop us but we can’t let them. Our mission is too important. We need your help! It is our hope that a show of numbers will dissuade the Holarians from interfering with us but if they wish to fight, Walter and I are ready to

give our lives for our children.?” She then walked through the crowd. back toward the hill, looking straight into the eyes of the Hairons she passed. She got about halfway up the hill and turned to the amassed Hairons below her. She hesitated for the briefest of moments, then shouted for all to hear, “Who is with me!”

    Immediately the multitude began cheering and yelling. These random expressions of support quickly coalesced into a chant of “Mollie! Mollie! Mollie!”

    Mollie moved to the front of the horde and raised her arms. Everyone got quiet, waiting for her signal.

“Let’s go!” was all she said before turning and leading her troops toward Holarian territory.

    As Stinky flew back he was startled to see a dark patch on the ground a couple miles ahead of him. He did not recall seeing this on the way out but he wasn't really paying too much attention to the ground at that time.

Now he could see that the dark patch was moving and he felt a chill go up and down his spine. “Please, no!” he said to himself. But it was as he feared. Hairons, as far as he could see, moving towards Holarians territory. He found this so upsetting that he couldn't fly and had to land until he could compose himself.

    Back at Jeffrid's castle, Jeffrid had just given the order for his troops to follow him out to meet the Hairons on the field of battle.

    Stinky sat there alone, not knowing what to do now nor even if there was anything he could do. Suddenly he had plan! He took flight again and saw that the two sides were now a lot closer than he expected. Within minutes the two forces will be within visual range. He knew that his only chance of averting a tragedy was to get the two leaders together. Knowing something and being able act on it are two very different things though. He was almost certain that he could get Millie to the spot he had chosen for the meeting to happen but Jeffrid was a different story. He had no leverage with him. He would have to be brought to the meeting against his will.

     Stinky needed the help of a praying mantis so he scanned the area for one. They blend in very well with the environment so they aren’t easy to spot. To his good fortune, one chose that particular moment to move to a new location. Stinky watched where it landed and flew over to it. The first thing Stinky did after landing next to the praying mantis was to inform it about how bad stink bugs tasted and ask its name. The praying mantis said her name was Gillion. Stinky introduced himself and summarized the situation for Gillion before making his request for help. Praying mantises can be obstinate at times but Gillion was in a good mood and agreed to help. She flew straight up in the air to an altitude of about thirty feet, flew a series of circles and loops and returned to Stinky. Stinky thanked Gillion heartily for her help, once again reminded her of the bad taste he would leave in her mouth and flew away to wait.

    It wasn’t long before Stinky saw. of whom he was waiting for, gliding along the ground. Seconds later he was joined by a huge, and magnificent, Bald Eagle. “Hello Samuel,” Stinky said as he greeted his guest. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”

    “The praying mantis signaled that there was an emergency,” Samuel roared with his thunderous voice.

    “There is an emergency and I need your help to prevent a catastrophe.” Stinky affirmed and then went on to explain what was going on and what could happen if they didn’t prevent it. He then told Samuel, “I need you to grab Jeffrid and bring him to this spot.”

    Samuel understood what was at stake and didn’t hesitate even a moment before he agreed to do what Stinky asked of him.

    “Stay here until you see me returning with the Hairon,” Stinky told Samuel. “Then get Jeffrid.”

     Samuel flew over to a copse of trees and landed in one of them to wait. Stinky flew back to Mollie.

    “I need to talk to you alone Mollie,” Stinky told her.

    “About what?” Mollie challenged.

    “About the possible ramifications of what is about to take place,” Stinky explained.

    “I don’t need to be reminded about what is at stake here,” Mollie countered defiantly. “The most important thing is getting my children back!”

    “Let's take a walk and talk about that,” Stingy urged.

    “If it will make you feel better, let's take a walk,” Mollie agreed then added. “You won't change my mind!”

    Mollie and Stinky walked and talked until they reached the spot where Samuel was to bring Jeffrid.

Samuel had spotted them approaching from a great distance and was already on his way to grab Jeffrid.

    “Let's stop here,” Stinky suggested.

    Suspecting nothing, Mollie agreed. Moments later the whooshing of Samuel's mighty wings as they powered him toward Mollie and Stinky. Hanging from his powerful talons, Jeffrid was staying very still and quiet. A fall from that height would be instantly fatal. Mollie spotted the Holarians hanging there and demanded to know what was going on. “Is this some sort of trick?” she screamed. “Whose side are you on?”

    “I'm not on either side Mollie,” Stinky told her. “I just want to prevent anyone from getting hurt!”

    Samuel swooped down and deposited Jeffrid a few feet from where Mollie was standing. “What's going on here!” he demanded to know. “Why have I been kidnapped and brought here?”

    Mollie lunged for Jeffrid and was about to grab him when Samuel's wing blocked her. She then went after Samuel until three more Bald Eagles landed next to him.

    Mollie was filled with anger and rage. She glared at Jeffrid, then Samuel and then Stinky. Seeing that she was outnumber with no escape, she began to roar.

    Jeffrid, realizing that Mollie was signaling her troops to attack, took a rolled up length of rope from his pocket spherical shaped object. It was hollow with two slits cut into opposite sides. He began to swing the rope around and around. As the rope picked up speed, it began to make an ear piercing whistling sound.

    Mollie flew into the air, looking one way then the other. Both Armies were on the move, heading right toward this site. Mollie quickly landed and, in desperation, shouted at both adversaries, “Do either of you know why you are fighting?”

    They both said no but accused the other of side of having done something horrible in the past.

     Stinky then asked if either could remember the last battle their two sides had fought.

    Jeffrid was the first to answer, “No, it's been a couple generations since the last battle.”

    “We haven't needed to have any contact with those monsters until now!” Mollie shouted.

    “Who are you calling monsters?” Jeffrid shouted back.

    Suddenly, and without warning, Samuel spread his broad wings, reared up and bellowed, “Stop!”

    This unexpected, and formidable, assertion of discontent expressed by Samuel caught everyone off guard and they all cringed from fear. Samuel refolded his wings and stepped forward. With his head brought low he froze both parties with his scowl. “Enough of this!” he growled. “This feud is over!”

    Still stunned by this unexpected turn of events, neither combatant was able to refute Samuel’s assertion but Stinky seized the opportunity to reinforce what Samuel had begun. “What Samuel means is that this feud no longer has grounds to continue,” he explained. “Neither of you can even remember what it was about and neither of you know when the last time it was contested. It looks like your ancestors were over whatever the problem was.”

 “Why would my parents tell me there was a feud and that the Holarians are our enemy, if it wasn’t true?” Mollie asked indignantly

    “Sometimes messages get changed and distorted as they are passed along,” Stinky suggested. “Maybe that is what happened here.

    “This all makes sense to me,” Jeffrid conceded. “I won’t stop you from crossing our land Mollie,”

    While they were talking, their armies were getting closer and closer.

    “You had better call off your armies!” Samuel warned. “Get on my back and I’ll fly you to them.”

    Jeffrid jumped onto Samuels back but Mollie just stood there looking at him. Then she asked, with a slight smile, “Are you serious? Do you really think that you can carry me on your back?”

    Everyone saw the absurdity in that and began laughing.

  , “You are right,” Samuel agreed as he took flight with Jeffrid on his back.

    Mollie put her face up to the sky and shouted, “Stop the attack!” Because of the low pitch and the high volume of her voice, she was heard for throughout the area.

    Just as the Hairons were disengaging, Samuel landed with Jeffrid and he called a halt to his troops advance. Mollie joined her troop and explained what had happened. Jeffrid did the same with his army.

As both groups turned and headed away from the battlefield Jeffrid and Mollie met and shook hands.

   “Good luck finding Mantodea,” Jeffrid told Mollie. “I hope that he can help you get your children back safely.”

    “Thank You Jeffrid,” Mollie replied. “If there is ever anything that we can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask.”

    They shook hands one last time and Jeffrid turned to join his army.

   By this time Walter had joined Mollie and, with Stinky perched on his head, they were headed across Hollarian territory, toward the river.

  Chapter ten

 

    Norton and Lyman were sound sleepers but they were rudely awakened by a rumbling sound on the road, outside of their home. They got to the door just in time to see the rear ends of two big trucks that had just rumbled past their house. There was printing on the back of the trucks that said, “Olympia State University.”

    “I think those are the trucks that are going to take the Bigfoots to the university to get cut them up!” Norton screamed frantically. “What are we going to do?”

    Lyman was just a little less frantic and replied, “I don’t know but we have to stop them somehow!”

     “Let's go down there, maybe we can figure something out,” Norton told Lyman as they both hurriedly got dressed.

    When they got a to Woody’s store, the trucks were parked in front of it but no one was around. Even the guard was gone.

    “This may be the only chance we get to let them go,” Norton whispered.

    “I’ll run back and get the bolt cutters,” Lyman said as he ran back home.

    Norton stood there watching the store hoping no one would come out.

    Lyman was back in three minutes with the bolt cutter. He was breathing so hard that he couldn't talk. He just handed the bolt cutters to Norton and bent over trying to catch his breath.

    Norton took the cutters from his brother and, half running and half walking, made his way over to the cage holding Vita and Heron. Without hesitation, he cut the lock and removed it.

    Vita and Heron cowered in the far corner of the cage, not understanding what was going on nor what they should do. The just held each other and trembled.

    Norton open the cage door and motioned for them to get out. He uttered softly, “Go! Get out of there! You’re free! I'm sorry we did this to you!” He then yelled to Lyman, “They won’t leave!”

    Lyman came running, “What are you talking about?”

    Norton pointed to the cage and the Hairons and said, “See!”

    Lyman picked up a stick and headed for the back of the cage where the Hairons were cowering.

    “What are you doing?” Norton asked.

    “I’m going to poke them with this stick to get them moving,” Lyman replied.

    Just then they heard voices headed their way. “They’re coming back!” Norton yelled in a whisper.

    “Let’s get out of here!” Lyman replied as he dropped the stick and ran past his brother. Norton was right behind him as they ran home.

    There were three men and Woody Harper approaching the cage. “Bring the truck around here,” Woody ordered. One of the men left the group and headed for the trucks.

    One of the other men with Woody walked over to the cage and saw that the lock was gone. “Hey!” he called out. “Someone left the cage unlocked!”

    “No way!” Woody yelled back, I locked it myself. He walked over the cage door and saw broken lock lying on the ground. He picked it up and saw that it had been cut. “Somebody tried to set the free!” he announced. “I think I know who it was too.”

    “Who?” asked the other man.

    “Never mind,” Woody told him. I’ll take care of that later. He then saw the two Hairon children cowering in the cage and joked, “Besides, these things are too stupid to know they could have gotten away. Keep an eye on them. I’ll be right back.”

   Woody went into the store and returned in a short while with another lock and locked the cage door.

         The man who had gone for the truck was backing the truck up to the cage door. When the read of the truck was about four feet from the cage, he stopped the truck and turned off the engine. He then jumped down from the truck's cab carrying a long cattle prod. Another of the men pulled the truck’s rear doors open and grabbed a tranquilizer gun that was lying in the back of the truck. The driver moved around to where Vita and Heron were tightly holding on to one another. The man poked the cattle prod into Vita’s ribs and turned it on.

    The jolt of electricity made Vita cry out in pain and grab her brother tighter. Heron reached for the prod and the man let him grab it before he fired a shot of electricity up his arm. Heron let go and started moving away, toward the front of the cage. The man jolted them both with the cattle prod over and over. Each time Vita and Heron moved farther away and closer to the front to the cage.

    The man jolted them one last time and they were now cowering by the cage door. Vita was wailing no with tears streaming down her cheeks, soaking the short hair on her face. Heron was raging and each time one of them was jolted he let out a ferocious roar.

    The cattle prod man suddenly moved back as tranquilized darts starting striking first Heron, then Vita. Vita buried her face in Heron chest as Heron roared even louder. By the time the darts stopped coming, there were four stuck in Heron and three in Vita. Both of their heads started spinning as the medicine took effect and within minutes Heron and Vita were lying unconscious on the floor of the cage.

    “That was a stroke of genius forcing them to the cage door,” one of the men told the other.

    “Ya, I wasn’t looking forward to carrying their fat carcasses all the way across the cage. This will be much easier,” the other man explained.

    Woody went into the store and returned with some rope and some chains. All three of the men went into the cage hogged tied Vita and Heron.

    When they had them all trussed up, they yelled for the fourth man. Almost immediately he came around the corner driving a forklift. He drove it over to the door of the cage and forced the fork underneath Heron. The violence of the fork being driven underneath tore a six-inch chunk of flesh off Heron’s back and he started to bleed. The men ignored the wound as Heron was lifted up with the forklift and then dropped into the back of the truck. The back of the truck was closed and locked securely. It was then driven away to make room for the second truck.  The man working the forklift then returned for Vita and repeated the process. Vita was dropped into the back of the second truck, flesh intact.  This truck was then closed up and locked, same as the first. Woody got into the passenger side of this truck while one of the other men took the driver’s seat. The other two men got into the other truck. Woody’s truck drove away first, with the other close behind.

    Norton and Lyman stood silently in the doorway of their house as they watched the two trucks rumble by, heading back out of town.

 

Chapter eleven

 

The beauty of the Holarian territory and the historical significance of them being the first Hairons welcomed onto it in several generations were lost on Mollie and Walter. All that they were concerned with was finding Mantodea and securing his assistance with getting Vita and Heron back from the humans.

    The love they had for their children endowed them super Hairon strength as they pursued their singular goal.

    They were able to keep up a pace that should have, and would have, quickly exhausted them under normal circumstances. They could now see the river; something that they weren't expecting to do for, at least, another hour.

    “You are making great time,” Stinky told them. “Maybe you should take a break before we get to the river. Once we start heading north, along the river, progress will be slower.”

    “All the more reason to keep going,” Mollie replied.

    “Mollie is right,” Walter agreed. “If we stop now we will squander all the progress we have made.”

    “Alright,” Stinky said. “I sure don't need a break. I'm just riding.”

    “How much longer do you think it will take to get to Mantodea?” Mollie asked.

     “If we keep up this pace, we should be there late tomorrow morning,” Stinky replied.

     “Good!” exclaimed Walter. “There is no telling what Vita and Heron are going through right now!”

    They continued at an accelerated pace and soon reached the river. They stopped long enough to get a drink of water and eat a couple handfuls of berries. Then they were off again. They headed northward and soon entered a thick forest. Stinky told them that it will be like this this rest of the way and that they would make the best time if they stayed along the river bank. “You have your choice,” he told them. “You can either push your way through the forest or slog through the soft sand and mud along the river bank. Neither way is going to be very fast.”

     They decided to take Stinky's advice and stay along the river bank. “We’ve wasted enough time here!” Mollie said as she set off down river. Neither Walter nor Stinky said anything; they just followed Mollie down river.

    The soft sand and mud Stinky had mentioned earlier was all that and more. It would have been difficult for a normal sized individual to walk on it. These weren’t normal sized individuals though. Mollie weighed three hundred pounds and Walter weighed, at least three-hundred and fifty pounds. There were times when the sank up to their knees in mud. “We’re never going to get there at this rate!” Mollie screamed in frustration.

     “Let’s try going through the forest,” Walter suggested.

     “It can’t be any worse than this!” Mollie replied sarcastically.

     Stinky looked around and then told them, “There’s a spot right up there where you can climb up into the

forest.”

    Mollie and Walter couldn’t get there fast enough. They ran as fast as the sloppy footing would let them and then, quickly, scrambled up the bank and into the trees. The forest was very dense but, at least, they had good footing. They started bushing through the underbrush and noticed that it was, actually, quite easy. Gaining confidence with each step, they moved faster and faster. Their size and weight were an advantage here.

    “I should have known that you would do better in here,” Stinky told them. “This is where the Hairons evolved. Natural selection would have worked out the problem of navigating through the trees and underbrush a long, long time ago. At this rate, you’ll be there some time tomorrow morning.”

    They kept up their pace the remainder of the day and into the night until it was too dark to see where they were going. Once darkness had put a halt to their breakneck assault, they sat down against a couple of trees and fell asleep.

    Stinky laid down on the top of Walter’s head and was also falling asleep until Walter woke back up. “You’re starting to stink again, now that we’ve stopped,” Walter complained. “You can’t stay there!”

    Stinky sighed and moved down to Walter’s ankle. “Is this better?” he asked.

    “Ya, I can’t smell you down there,” Walter answered and fell back asleep.

    In the morning they slept a little longer than they had planned because the Sun doesn't penetrate the forest canopy until it is well above the horizon.

    When they did finally awaken, Mollie was in a frenzy. “I wanted to get an early start!” she complained wildly.

    “We’ll be there in just a couple of hours,” Stinky explained to her, trying to calm her down a little.

    “Plus we needed to wait until there was enough light to see where we were going,” Walter added.

    “OK, fine!” Mollie conceded. “Let's just get going.”

    “Let's get something to eat first,” Walter suggested. “I'm pretty hungry.”

     “I'm kind of hungry too,” Mollie confessed. “But then we need to be on our way.”

     They located some berry bushes and nut trees near the river and ate their fill. Once their stomachs were full, they continued their journey at the same pace as the day before.

    They crashed through the forest for another hour and then started to see praying mantises watching them from the trees. At first there were just a few but as they got closer to where they thought Mantodea was living, the number increased greatly. Soon the trees were covered in pay mantises.

    “We are real close now,” Stinky told the Sunshines.

     “There must be ten thousand praying mantises out there,” Mollie complained. “How do we know which one is Mantodea?”

    Before Stinky could answer, one of the praying mantises flew down out of one of the trees and landed on Mollie’s shoulder. “What's this?” she shouted and prepared to swat it away.

    “Stop!” Stinky yelled. “Don't do anything.”

    Mollie stopped and the praying mantis said, “Thank you my friend.”

    “Do you know this thing?” Mollie asked.

    Stinky looked over at Mollie, shaking his head, “This thing, as you call it, is one of Mantodea’s guards. He will have a message for us.” Then he added, “I recommend that you show a little humility and respect if you even expect to talk to Mantodea.”

    Mollie immediately realized what she had done and started to apologize. “I am so sorry! I don't know what I'm doing anymore because I am so worried about my children and we have come a long way.”

     The praying mantis replied immediately, “I understand what you must be feeling and, of course, your apology is accepted.”

     Before Mollie could answer, the praying mantis continued, “Follow that path and you will find who you are seeking.” As he talked, he pointed to a path that none of them had seen until then. The praying mantis flew away before anyone could utter a sound.

    “Let’s go!” Mollie commanded and headed down the path with Walter and Stinky close behind.

    They had traveled about one hundred yards and there was Mantodea sitting in a tree directly ahead. Mollie stopped and just stared at him. Walter and Stinky arrived in a matter of seconds and followed Mollie’s stare.

    “We’re finally here!” Walter exclaimed.

    Mollie just stood there in stunned silence. Unable to find her voice.

    Mantodea was about a foot long and a much darker green than any of the other praying mantises. He saw that Mollie was taken aback by this sudden encounter and moved toward her. He moved from tree to tree with the elegance of a champion ballroom dancer. His regal bearing was on full display.

    Walter move right up to Mollie and put his arm around her. “Are you alright?” he asked. The concern in his voice was deep.

    Mollie turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes were glassy and on the verge of tears. “What if he can’t help us?”

    Walter suddenly realized that Mollie had been putting on an air of false bravado. She was afraid that when they found Mantodea he would be unable to help them and she would lose her children. He turned her toward him and hugged her close with both arms. She was unable to hold back her tears any longer and she began crying. Walter held her tightly while her crying became more and more intense.

    Stinky took this opportunity to fly over to Mantodea and perch himself right beside him.

    Mantodea greeted him warmly, “Hello Ernest.”

    “Please Mantodea, call me Stinky,” Stink requested.

    “Stinky?” Mantodea questioned.

    “Yes sir,” Stinky affirmed. “I never liked the name Ernest so I go by Stinky now.”

    Mantodea looked at him, not quite knowing what to think. “Am I to understand that you prefer Stinky to Ernest?”

   “Yes sir,” Stinky affirmed once more.

   “Very well,” Mantodea agreed. “If that’s what you are sure you want; I’ll make it official. I decree that from this day forth, you will be known only as Stinky.”

    “That’s very kind you sir,” Stinky replied.

    “Why have you brought these Hairons to me?” Mantodea then asked.

    By this time Mollie had stopped crying and getting over her initial reaction. She overheard Mantodea’s question and spoke up, “I can answer that for you.”

    Stinky flew back to the top on Walter’s head as Mantodea addressed Mollie, “You have come a long way and across Holarian territory. Whatever your reason, it must be dire,”

    “It is sir!” Mollie exclaimed urgently, moving closer to him with her hands folded in front of her. “I need your help to get my children back from the humans!”

    “I see,” Mantodea replied sympathetically. “This concerns children. The safety of children can inspire us to undertake heroic actions. please, tell me more.”

    Mollie and Walter explained what had happened and what they had done since their disappearance. They explained how the Hairons had made peace with the Holarians and how they were willing to risk everything to achieve their children’s freedom. They ended with a solemn plea for help.

    Mantodea listened intently to all they were telling him. He became a little unnerved when he heard that there was now peace between the Hairons and the Holarians but that quickly passed.

    Before Mantodea could say anything, Mollie again said, “Will you please help us Mantodea? You are our only hope!”

    Mantodea looked deeply into Mollie's eyes with the empathy God hath bestowed within him and said softly, “Of course I will help you

Mollie.”

    Hearing this, Mollie fell to her knees and wept uncontrollably. Walter went to Mollie's side and knelt down next to her. He helped her back to her feet, with her head buried in his shoulder, asked Mantodea what he was going to do to help them.

    Mantodea looked at Stinky and told him, “Stinky, I want you to go into the human world and find Mary. Explain the situation to her and tell her that I have promised these Hairons our assistance.”

   Mollie lifted her head off of Walter's shoulder and told Mantodea, “We want to help too.”

    “I don't think that is a good idea,” Mantodea replied.

    “Well I do!” Mollie shouted indignantly. “They are my children!”

    Walter tried to pull Mollie away but she just pulled away from him. “Get control of yourself Mollie!” he warned.

    “I do have control of myself,” she yelled, “and I am going to part of this rescue!”

     While Mollie was yelling at Mantodea, the trees around them began to fill with praying mantises.

    Stinky took notice of this and told Mollie, while pointing at the trees, “I suggest you calm down.”

    Mantodea backed up and returned to his original perch. He then told all three of them sternly, “Mary will find your children and, if at all possible, rescue them but I don’t want anyone to interfere with her efforts. Is that understood?”

    Mollie looked at all the praying mantises surrounding them and begrudgingly said, “Yes I understand.”

    Mantodea then asked them, “Will you be able to find your way back to the Hairon’s territory?”

    Walter said, “Yes we will Mantodea. Thank you for your help. I hope that we will be kept informed of the progress being made on our behalf.”

    Mantodea responded by telling them that you it will be up to Mary to make that decision but that Stinky will pass on their request.

    Mary then took a step forward and apologized for Mollie’s behavior.

    Mantodea smiled, “I am not offended. She is a mother whose children are missing. None of us have any idea how she feels. I admire her passion and would have expected nothing less.”

    “I understand what you are saying,” Stinky told Mantodea. “You are very wise.”

    Mantodea then addressed the Sunshines. “You need to go back to your home and wait. If anyone can rescue your children and bring them safely home, it is Mary. Have a safe journey home.”

    Neither Sunshines said a word in response. They just turned and walked away.

    Mantodea then addressed Stinky, “I don’t know where Mary is right now but she keeps in touch with Henrietta. Hopefully she will know where Mary is. Good luck,”

    “Thank you Mantodea,” Stinky replied and turned to leave.

   “One more thing,” Mantodea called out. “When you find Mary, tell her that it is my wish that she keeps the Sunshines up to date on her progress.”

    Stinky Stopped and turned, “I’ll pass that message along,” He then turned back to where he was going and left to find Henrietta.

 

Chapter twelve

 

   The ride from Mossrock to the university was a living hell for Vita and Heron. They were lying on the cold, metal truck floor in total darkness. They were hog tied and had no control over their movements. Every bump was a shock to their systems. With every turn the truck made, they slid, uncontrollably, from one side to the other, sometimes smashing an unprotected body part into the steel wall. Heron suffered an additional agony where the flesh had ripped from his back. It burned constantly but when he rolled or slid on it, the pain was so severe he almost passed out several times.

    They made one stop during which they were each given a ladle full of water to drink.

     There was no way to tell how long the trip to but, mercifully, it ended. They could hear talking outside and there were several more voices.

    The talking finally stopped and they hoped that they would soon be out of the trucks. Even a cage is better than their current condition.  They expected the doors to open at any moment but instead they heard a panel slide open in the front of the truck. Heron was quick enough to see that the opening led into the cab of the truck. He was about to call out when something was dropped through the opening. As soon as the object hit the floor it began to his and emit a gas. The gas quickly filled the enclosed area. Unable to protect themselves from the gas, they inhaled it and quickly lost consciousness.

    Heron opened his eyes and everything, including his memory, was a little hazy. He was no longer hog tied but his wrists and ankles were sore from being tied up. He looked around and then stood up and began to walk around. After a short while things began to clear. His last memory was seeing an object hitting the floor of the truck in which he was riding. Now he found himself in a small cubicle with one thick, clear plastic wall. Going through the plastic were a set of vertical metal bars. The bars were about two inches in diameter and were secured to the ceiling and the floor. Suddenly he remembered, “Where is Vita?” He put his face against the plastic wall and looked out. On the other side he could see a large room. The room was empty except a large round wooden table in the center, surrounded by eight wooden chairs.

    In the wall opposite him there were six cubicles, identical to his. As he was trying to figure out where he could possibly be, the sight he saw filled him with anger and despair. In the cubical directly across from his, he could see Vita, with her face against the plastic wall, staring back at him.

    When Vita saw him her eyes opened widely and she shouted something. He couldn’t hear her. He shrugged his shoulders and pointed to his ears, trying to convey the message that he was unable to hear her. She understood and her eyes became sad.

    Heron backed away from the wall and sat down on the cold concrete floor to think. While he was sitting there he heard a noise coming from behind opposite the plastic one. He looked over to where the sound was coming from and saw that there was a panel about four feet long that extended from the floor to about three feet up the wall. As he sat there staring at it, it slid open, bottom to top. He rushed over to it, hoping to find a way out. Instead of finding a way out, he found a bucket of water and a bunch of bananas. The sight of the bananas enraged him! She shouted, “We are not monkeys!”

 

Chapter thirteen

 

    Henrietta is a very large Snowy Owl and wasn't difficult to find. She makes it her business to know everyone else's business and when she saw two Hairons in this part of the Bewitched Woods she wanted to know why. So she followed them to Mantodea and watched intently. She had no idea that Stinky was with them until she saw them talking to Mantodea. She didn't know much about Hairons so she waited for Stinky to leave and then flew over to talk to him.

    Henrietta started talking even before she landed, “Hi Stinky! What's going on?”

    Stinky was very happy to see her. This was going to be easier than they had expected. “You are exactly who I am looking for,” he told her.

    Henrietta was a little surprised and disconcerted to hear this. “Why are you looking for me?” she asked then added, “I haven't done anything bad. Is Mantodea upset with me?

    “Relax Henrietta,” he reassured her. “You haven't done anything that I am aware of. Mantodea thinks that you know where I can find Mary.”

    “He’s right,” Henrietta confirmed. “I do know where Mary is living. Why do you want her?”

    Stinky couldn't think of any reason why Henrietta could not know what was going on so he told her about the Hairon children being kidnapped and how Mantodea wants Mary to rescue them.

    “Let me go with you, please!” Henrietta begged.

    “I don't think that will be possible,” Stinky told her. “I’m small and can get around in the human’s world without attracting attention. You, on the other hand, are very big, even for a Snowy Owl. You would attract unwanted attention wherever you went and would be a big distraction. No, I’m sorry but, you can't come along. Now tell me where Mary lives.”

    Henrietta just sat there giving Stinky a pointy beak look.

    “Pouting isn't going to change my mind,” Stink told her. “Just tell me where Mary is living and I'll be on my way.”

   “Alright,” Henrietta conceded. “She is living in a small town in Ohio named Logan. You can get there through the Hocking Hills Portal.”

    “Has she taken human form?” Stinky asked next.

    “Yes,” replied Henrietta.

     Stinky then asked, “Do you know what name she is using?”

     “Yes, she is using the name Mary Melody.”

    “Thank you Henrietta,” Stinky told Henrietta with a big smile.

     Henrietta returned the smile and said hopefully, “If I went with you I could be even more help!”

    “I’m sure you could but we’ve been over this already and nothing has changed,” Stinky explained. He then asked, “How do you keep in touch with Mary?”

    “She’s my friend,” was Henrietta’s response.

    “I know that she is your friend but I need to know how you keep in touch with her,” Stinky repeated.

    “We get together about once a week at Portal Central,” Henrietta answered. “I call up the Hocking Hills Portal and she comes through it. Then we usually have lunch and chat. Before she leaves we set up another date.”

    “You don’t happen to have a meeting set up for today, do you?” Stinky inquired

    Henrietta frowned, “We just got together yesterday. She’ll be back next week.”

    “I’ll just have to go find her then,” Stinky exclaimed with conviction. “Wish me luck!”

    “You wouldn’t need luck if you took me along with you,” Henrietta suggested.

     Stinky just looked at her, rolled his eyes and sighed. He then turned and started walking away.

    Before he got too far Henrietta yelled to him, “Where are you going?”

    Without even turning around Stinky yelled back, “I’m going to Portal Central and then to Logan, Ohio.”

    Henrietta then yelled, “Good luck!” and flew away.

    It took Stinky twenty minutes to walk to the Portal Central. As he walked he tried to formulate a plan for getting the Hairon children back but quickly realized that he had too many variables and not enough information to make even a rudimentary plan. He then remembered Mantodea’s instructions; he was to find Mary and she would rescue the children. It was just sinking in that Mantodea did not give him the assignment of rescuing the Hairon children. He was just passing on a message. Mary might not even want his help. This did not sit well with him.

   Portal Central was a majestic looking building made of white marble. Three domes protruded from a red tile roof. The central dome was about twice the size of the two domes that flanked it on the left and right. Eight Corinthian volumes decorated the front of the building where the main entrance was located. To enter the building, you passed through one of three revolving doors. Once inside you found yourself standing in the expansive main hall. All around the hall there were hundreds of doors. Each door was entrance to a departure/arrival station. From these stations you could call up any portal. Most portals took you to a different area within the Bewitched Woods but a few led to the human area. In the past, this form of transportation had been very popular but, in recent years, it had become so expensive that it was now rarely used.

    Stinky walked over to one of the doors, opened it and entered. He closed the door and sensors detected his presence. The panel in front of him lit up and displayed the names of all the portals. To his right, the wall became a shimmering, multicolored light curtain.

He perused the screen until he found “Hocking Hills. He touched the name on the screen and the light curtain became a solid blue. Then went over to the curtain and walked through.

    When he emerged on the other side, he found himself surrounded by a dense forest. He spotted a path through the trees and worked his way over to it. When he reached the path he had to make a decision. Should he go left or right? There was no way of knowing which way would lead out of the woods and which direction would take him deeper into them. He tried to fly up above the trees and see what he could see but the canopy was too thick for him to penetrate.

    He had just decided to trust to luck when, out of nowhere, another stink bug landed on the path. He said hello but got no reaction. Moments later another stink bug landed, then another and another. Soon there were nearly fifty stink bugs on the path with him. Again he tried to communicate with them but had no success. He wondered why none of these stink bugs would talk to him. He was pondering the why they wouldn't communicate with him when all the other stink bugs started to move. They moved together into several lines and started walking down the path. Like a bolt of lightning out of the blue, the answer struck him. He was no longer in the Bewitched Woods and the animals out here could not speak. He also realized that they were showing him in which direction he should travel to get out of the woods.

    Stinky took wing and flew down the path in the direction that his compatriots had indicated. He flew less than a hundred yards before he was out of the woods, at the top of a small hill. Directly in front of him was a cabin. At the bottom of the hill was a small lake. Beyond the lake was a dirt road and beyond that, fields of corn. As he looked out over the area, the enormity of the task he had been given struck him. How was he ever going to find Mary, alone, without allies, in this humongous world? Then he exclaimed loudly, for the world to hear, “I’ll find her or die trying!”

    “Yeah! Whoops!” came a voice from behind him.

    Stinky turned quickly to see Henrietta sitting on a tree limb with a sheepish look on her face. “What are you doing here!” Stinky asked angrily.

    “I followed you through the portal,” Henrietta replied. “I had to come along! Please don’t be mad and send me back.”

    Stinky’s anger quickly abated as he realized how happy he was to see a friendly face. “I’m not mad and I can use any help I can get,” he admitted. “You are going to have to try to stay out of sight though. There is no telling how humans will react to seeing an owl like you.”

    “What do you mean by, an owl like me?” Henrietta asked a little defensively.

    “You a quite a bit bigger than the owls out here,” Stinky explained. “Humans are barbarians when they see something unusual. They will kill and stuff just about anything.”

    Henrietta shuttered, “Oh my! I will stay out of sight!”

    “Do you have any idea where I can find Mary?” Stinky asked, changing the subject.

    “Yes!” Henrietta exclaimed with excitement. “We got a big laugh out of where she lives because she lives on Henrietta Avenue.”

    “You’re joking!” Stinky said as he started to laugh.

    “Nope! I’m not kidding!” Henrietta affirmed. “She lives on Henrietta Avenue.”

    “So we need to find Henrietta Avenue,” Stinky announced. “Any idea where it is?”

    “I’m sorry Stinky, I don’t,” Henrietta said sadly.

    “Then I need to find their city hall or police station,” Stinky told Henrietta.

    “Oh!” exclaimed Henrietta, “We used to laugh about that too because I like Mulberry’s and their city government is on Mulberry Street, near a cemetery.”

    “Then that is where I will start,” Stinky said with a determination he did not have just a few minutes earlier. “I’m going to try to find the cemetery. That shouldn’t be too hard.”

    “Get on my back and I’ll fly you over the town,” Henrietta suggested.

    “That’s a good idea,” Stinky agreed. “You’ll have to fly high so no one can tell how big you are, though.”

    “I can do that,” Henrietta concurred. “Climb on and let’s get going!”

    Stinky flew up and onto Henrietta's back and settled in among her feathers. From where he sat he had a good view of the ground, “Alright!” he called out and Henrietta took off.

    She flew higher and higher until things on the ground started to look like toys. The flight to Logan took about fifteen minutes but once they got over the town they immediately saw the cemetery. There was a dense wooded area behind the cemetery and Stinky yelled into Henrietta’s ear to land there. Henrietta picked out a suitable tree and landed in it.

    From where Henrietta landed, she was unable to see the cemetery so they were confident that no one could see them either. “I’m going to go look for Mulberry Street while you wait here,” Stinky told Henrietta.

    “But,” Henrietta protested.

    Stinky cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “Don’t argue!” he said firmly.

    “Alright, I’ll stay here and wait,” Henrietta reluctantly agreed.

    Stinky flew to the street that passed right in front of the cemetery. He looked for a street sign and quickly found one. “Cemetery Street,” he mumbled to himself. “How original.”

    He was at another impasse. Should he go left or right. This time he didn’t get any help and had to make up his own mind. For no apparent reason he chose left. He flew to the next street and looked at the name. “North Market Street,” he read out loud and kept going.

    The next street wasn’t a through street, it just went left. He found the street sign and smiled broadly, “Hello Mulberry Street,” To his right he saw a very official looking building and flew over to investigate it. The sign on the building said, “Water Utility Company.”

    “This will do just fine,” he said to himself. He flew up to the building and looked for a way in. Eventually he found a window that was slightly ajar and slipped inside. To his amazement, as soon as he entered the room he was looking right at a map of Logan that took up, almost a quarter, of the opposite wall. The street names were clearly marked and he, methodically, searched for Henrietta Avenue.

     “Gotcha!” he shouted. He found Henrietta Avenue was about a mile and a half back across town.

    Stinky left the building the same way he got in and flew back to where he had left Henrietta. He was totally convinced that she would be gone when he got there but, to his great relief, she was waiting for him exactly where he left her. He landed next to her and filled her in on what he found. “Henrietta Avenue is about a mile and a half that way,” he reported as he pointed toward the center of town.

“I am going to fly over there and, somehow, get into each house on Henrietta Avenue until I find where Mary is living.”

    “Do you know what she looks like?” Henrietta asked.

    “No,” Stinky admitted. “But she is maintaining an alien shape so she will have an aura around her, Humans can’t see it but it is plainly clear to residents of the Bewitched Woods.”

    “Is there some way that I can help?” Henrietta asked hopefully. “I can’t just sit here in this tree hiding all the time,”

   “I’m afraid that is all you can do right now Henrietta,” Stinky told her in a voice that said, “don’t even try to argue.”

    “There might be a way to make this a lot easier,” Henrietta suggested with a gleam in her eye.

    “Oh really?” Stinky said, skeptically. “How is that?”

    “Mary once told me that, here in the human world, they have a list of names and addresses called a telephone book,” Henrietta explained. “Maybe her address is in that book.”

    “Are you serious?” Stinky asked, still skeptical. “Where do they keep this list?”

    “Everyone that has a telephone gets a copy of the list,” Henrietta replied smiling. “When you get into one of those houses on Henrietta Avenue, you could look around for one. If you find one you can look up Mary Melody and get her address. The names are listed in alphabetical order using the English Alphabet.”

    Suddenly Stinky was suspicious, “Alright Henrietta!” he asked her. “What are you up to?”

    “Telephone books are really big and you’ll need me to turn the pages,” Henrietta replied smugly. “I’ll have to go with you.”

    “I knew you were up to something!” Stinky told her in a rather unhappy tone of voice.

    “Aw come on Stinky!” Henrietta begged. “The faster you find Mary; the sooner we can get back to a safe place.”

    Stinky knew that Henrietta was right but he didn’t like being fooled like this and he didn’t know how he was going to hide her while they were looking for a telephone book. This wasn’t going to work. “While this is a great idea that you have, Henrietta, there are just too many problems with it,” he told her. “I’m going to go with my original plan. You can either wait for me in the trees or go back to the Bewitched Woods. It's up to you. Right now I have to start searching for Mary.”

    You could see all the enthusiasm drain from Henrietta after she heard what Stinky said. “I'm going home,” was Henrietta’s response as she took off without saying another word.

    Stinky watched her fly away and, although he would miss her company, knew that this was the best choice. Now he could concentrate on his mission and not have to worry about anyone else.

    He was about to fly over to Henrietta Avenue when, without warning, something wrapped around him and swept him off his feet. He struggled to get away but his efforts were fruitless. He was enveloped in a cloth mesh. The mesh was suddenly turned upside down and pulled away from him, with nothing to hold him, he hung there for a second and started to fall. Instinctively his wings started flapping but not soon enough. He landed on a hard, smooth and flat surface. It took him a few seconds to get over the shock of the experience and when he did, he was stunned by what he saw.

    He was in some sort of glass walled enclosure. He could see the world outside and it was zooming past as if the enclosure was flying. It was a very bumpy flight. He looked up and saw that the enclosure was closed on top but there were multiple, jagged holes in the ceiling. He thought to himself. “I have to find a way out of here or I’ll never accomplish my mission. The seriousness of his predicament had not struck him yet.

    The glass structure was circular so he walked around the inside, looking out at the world as it flew by. What he saw next brought the reality of his predicament into laser focus. He was being carried by a human! He started to panic! He flew up to the ceiling and tried to fit through one of the holes but he was too big and the holes were too small. He flew to the wall and tried to scratch a hole in it but it was too hard. Unable to find a way out, he dropped back to the bottom and thought long and hard. He kept telling himself, “There has to be a way out!”

    While he sat there, deep in thought, it suddenly became darker. He looked out the to see that he was now inside of a human’s house. He thought, “This is it! I’m going to die!” He was carried through the house until. with a thump, the enclosure was set down. He looked out and almost fainted! There were two faces looking back at him. One belonged to a young boy, the other to a young girl. They stared at him. for what seemed a lifetime, before the young boy turned away and said something to someone in the house. The boy moved away and his face was replaced by the face of an older woman. With great fear he looked at the woman’s face until a sense of great relief overcame him. The woman’s face was surrounded by a bright blue aura. He had found Mary or, more accurately, Mary had found him.

    He started banging on the wall with all his might and shouting, “Mary! Mary! It’s me, Stinky!”

    Mary saw him pounding and saw his mouth moving, unable to hear him through the glass. A broad smile crossed her face as she recognized her old friend Stinky. Quickly she removed the top of the enclosure and Stinky flew up and out.

    He landed on Mary’s open hand and immediately proclaimed, “Mary! Am I glad to see you!”

    “Come over here children, I’d like you to meet and old friend,” Mary called” The two faces he had seen before now had bodies as they walked over to Mary. “Timeon, Tara, this is my friend Stinky from the Bewitched Woods. Stinky, meet Tara and Timeon.”

    Tara was only eight years old and very precocious, “How could he be your friend in the Bewitched Woods?” she asked. “You were a praying mantis then and would have eaten him.”

    This question made Mary laugh. “Nothing eats stink bugs Tara!” Mary replied, still laughing, “They taste terrible!” With this, everyone, including Stinky started laughing.

    Although he was laughing, Stinky was very confused about how Mary could let them know about the Bewitched Woods, so he asked, “Mary, how is it that these children know about the Bewitched Woods?”

    Mary could see the confusion and concern on Stinky’s face and quickly reassured him. “It’s alright my friend. These children are the reason that I am here. Last year they were taken into the Woods by two demons that needed to undergo a Reiteration. I helped rescue them and Mantodea made me one of his observers.”

    Stinky looked up at her with an expression of recognition. “I remember that event,” he told them. “Everyone was talking about it but I didn’t realize that it was you that did that.”

    “It was me!” Mary said with a note of pride the said, “That explains why I’m here but why are you here!”

    “Mantodea sent me to find you and give you message,” Stinky explained.

    “Alright, you found me,” Mary replied. “What’s the message?”

    “OK Mary, this is the message,” Stinky told her and then began to explain. “Two young Hairon children have been captured by the humans and are being held somewhere in this realm. Mantodea wants you to find them and return them to the Bewitched Woods and their parents care.”

    “That’s very interesting!” Mary exclaimed. “How did the Hairons get to Mantodea. They are isolated on their lands because of their feud with the Holarians.”

    Stinky puffed out his chest and said proudly. “I was able to get the two sides together and settle their differences. They’re feud is over!”

    Mary thought for a minute then replied, “I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.”

   Looking a little confused Stinky asked, “Why?”

   “Oh, it’s not important,” Mary responded then changed the subject. “Do we know where the Hairon children are being held?”

    “No,” answered Stinky, “The only information we have is that they went through a portal in the State of Washington, in the United States, near a town called Mossyrock.”

    Mary sighed, “That’s not much to go on but if that is all we have, it will have to do.”

    “Is Washington State far from here?” Stinky inquired.

    Mary smiled and replied, “You can’t get much farther from here and still be in the United States. We’re going to have to return to the Bewitched Woods and go through Portal Central to get there.”

    “I have one question before we go,” Stinky informed Mary. “Why did those children catch me and put me in that container?”

    Mary laughed and then looked at Stinky sympathetically. “First, what you are referring to as a container is called a Mason Jar and, second, we are so sorry for that Stinky! Aren’t we?”

    Tara and Timeon responded immediately, “Yes we are!” Timeon then went on to explain why they had done what they did, “Tara and I are entering our school’s Science Fair and we are going to enter a living insect zoo. We’ve been all over catching all sorts of insects for our display. You were the first Stink Bug we found.”

    “We are going to let them all go once the fair is over,” Tara added.

    “Ok then, in that case you are forgiven,” Stinky told all three of them.

    Mary then turned to Tara and Timeon, “I am going to be gone for a while. Will you ask your parents to keep an eye on my house while I am gone?”

    Timeon spoke up, “How long are you going to be gone Mary?”

    “I don’t know Timeon,” Mary replied. “All I can tell you is that I won’t be gone a second longer than I have to,”

    A tear was beginning to form in Tara’s eye. “I don’t want you to go!” she exclaimed.

    “I know you don’t sweetheart but there are some children that need my help,” Mary explained softly then added, “Just like you and Timeon needed me.”

    Tara was crying now. “You’ll come back, won’t you?”

    “Oh Tara,” Mary said as she hugged Tara closely. “Of course I’ll be back! Right now I need you to be strong and brave, and to take care of my house.”

    Tara stopped crying and hugged Mary back, “OK Mary, I’ll be brave and will take care of your house but I’ll miss you.”

    “I’ll miss you too and, like I said, I won’t be gone a second longer than I have to,” Mary said, trying to comfort Tara.

    “We’d better get going Mary,” Stinky interrupted.

    Mary gave Tara a kiss on the top of her head and let go of her, “You're right Stinky. Let’s go.” She kissed Timeon on the top of his head and started for the door. As she reached the door she turned to wave. Timeon and Tara were both silently crying

 

Chapter fourteen.

 

    Heron would rather have starved to death than eat the bananas he had been given, so the bananas just sat there. He had another worry at the moment. As he looked across the room, into Vita’s enclosure, he could see that she wasn’t moving. She just sat there on the staring straight ahead. Her eyes were wide open and glassy. He banged on the glass window of his enclosure, trying to get her attention, He didn’t know whether she was able to hear him or not, but she just sat there motionless.

    Standing there watching Vita and being helpless to go to her aid was quickly taxing Heron’s composure. The more he watched her, the more agitated he became. It soon got to be more than he could handle and he snapped. He began roaring as loud as he could. With each roar he ran across the enclosure as fast as he could and threw himself against the glass window. Over and over he

crashed into the glass. The collisions were so violent that something had to give. Something did and it wasn’t the glass. The skeleton of a Hairon is almost unbreakable but the soft tissue covering it was vulnerable. With each crash, hair from his body was torn away. Then his flesh began to tear. Blood seeped from his wounds and he began leaving bloody footprints as he ran across the enclosure for another collision.

    If Vita could see him and what he was doing, it made no impression on her. She continued to sit there staring straight ahead.

    Heron should have been exhausted but his adrenaline kept him going. He would break down that glass barrier or die in the process. Then, as he prepared to make another run at the wall, the enclosure started filling with glass. He saw the gas and rallied all the strength he had left for you more charge. He began the charge but never made it. After a couple of steps, he fell to the floor, unconscious.

Chapter fifteen

 

    The moment Mary left the house she reverted back to being a praying mantis. She and Stinky then flew directly to the Hocking Hills Portal and moments later we're back in the Bewitched Woods.

    Mary looked around and confided in Stinky, “I’ve missed this place!”

    Stinky was unsympathetic and told her, “We don’t have time for nostalgia. We have to get to the Portal Central.”

    Mary was a little annoyed that Stinky had deprived her of her nostalgic moment but agreed, “You’re right Stinky. Let’s get over there and figure out how we’re going to rescue those Hairon children.”

    Mary and Stinky took to the air once more and landed, just a few moments later, outside of Portal Central. Once inside they entered one of the vacant rooms, together. Stinky set the destination for the Mossyrock, Washington Portal. The machinery cycled and the curtain shimmered and then became a solid blue. Without hesitation they both hustled through the curtain and came out in Mossyrock, Washington.

    “What's your plan?” Stinky asked.

    “My plan?” Mary asked with just a trace of indignance. “When was I supposed to have formulated a plan? I received this assignment less than an hour at and have been on the go ever since.”

     Stinky felt a little defensive after what Mary just said and immediately began to backtrack. “I'm sorry Mary,” he said quickly. “Of course you haven't had time to come up with a plan. Let’s slow down a little until we know what we're doing.”

    Mary agreed and thought for only a moment before making a decision. “The first thing we need to know is where they are and under what circumstances,” she told Stinky. “Any other action will be predicated on what we find out. Right now we need to find out where they were captured.”

    “Well they would have come out right here,” Stinky offered as a starting point.

    “I need to take human form again,” Mary informed Stinky and, in an instant, became Mary Melody once more.

    Stinky flew up to Mary's shoulder and waited. When Mary said nothing he asked, “Aren't you going to tell me I stink and can't ride on your shoulder?”

    Mary laughed and replied, “That won't be a problem. Remember, I'm still a praying mantis and, although I wouldn’t eat you, I am quite used to your peculiar odor.”

    Stinky was surprised by Mary's answer but didn't say any more about it.

    “Let's go see if we can determine where they were captured” Mary said and set out to examine the area around the portal.

    They didn’t have to travel very far to find their first clue. Only a few feet from the portal they found two, what they assumed were, metal traps. They were evil looking things! Each trap had two jaws full of metal teeth. These jaws were spread open and latched to keep them that way. In the center ot the trap was a metal disk attached to an arm. Each jaw was attached to a spring that pulled the jaws quickly and violently together when triggered. The arm released the latch when something pushed on the metal disk.

There was a large chain attached to each trap. Mary followed the chain to find that it was firmly secured around a large tree.

    “It doesn’t look they were caught in either of these traps,” Mary told Stinky.

    “I think you’re wrong Mary,” Stinky replied. “Look over here!”

    Mary went over to where Stinky was standing and picked up a single jaw from a similar trap. A little way from that one, she located the other jaw and the rest of the trap. “Wow! “she exclaimed. “Whatever did this was really strong!”

    “Strong like a Hairon,” Stinky added.

    “Exactly!” Mary agreed. “Strong like a Hairon.”

    Mary and Stinky searched the area for more clues and found the ruts, made by the travois, and the footprints, made by the captors and their horse.

    Mary pondered what they had found and then suggested a likely scenario. “It appears that the two Hairon children left the portal and one of them, almost immediately, stepped into one of these traps. The trappers then, somehow, subdued them and put them onto some sort of horse drawn platform and dragged them away from here.”

    “How did the trap get all busted up and how could humans subdue two Hairons?” asked Stinky.

    “I’m still working on that,” answered Mary.”  Maybe if we follow these tracks we will find the answers to those questions.”

    Stinky took his place on Mary’s shoulder and off they went, continuing their pursuit; Following the trail presented very little challenge for them so they made good time. The followed the trail out of the woods, to the edge of the forest and across a couple. When they got to the edge of the town, the terrain changed from dirt and grass to concrete and asphalt. The trail abruptly ended there.

    “I think it’s safe to say that they are in this town,” Mary told Stinky.

    “Or at least they were in this town,” Stinky responded.

    “You’re right,” Mary agreed. “They could be long gone from here by now but someone should know where they went from here, Let’s start with the Sheriff.”

    Having no idea where the Sheriff's Office was, Mary asked the first person she saw for directions. As it happened, it was, none other than Lyman Hardy. Neither had any idea who the other was. Lyman politely gave Mary explicit directions to the Sheriff's Office and they parted ways.

    The office was just a couple of blocks from their current location so they decided to take a break and get something to eat and drink. Neither of them had any money so their only way they could eat was for Mary to return to her original form and dine on a few local insects. Stinky was a vegetarian so there was food for him wherever he looked. They found water to drink in a puddle created by a leaky outdoor faucet.

    Now that they were refreshed, Mary returned to being Mary Melody, again, and they headed for the Sheriff's office. Mary didn’t know whether she should knock first or just walk in. Deciding to take the most conservative approach, she knocked gently. There was no response. She knocked again with the same result.

    “Why don’t we just go in?” Stinky suggested.

    Mary took his advice and entered the office. The Sheriff was sitting behind his desk, watching them as they entered. “Why didn’t you answer the door?” Mary inquired.

    Sheriff Howard responded gruffly. “I figured that if it was important, you’d come in. If it wasn’t. you’d leave.”

     Mary found his answer very rude and disrespectful but didn’t comment on it. Instead she walked to the front of the Sheriff’s desk and stated her business. “I am looking for two large, hairy beasts that I think were brought into this town.”

    Instead of responding to what Mary said, the Sheriff got a strange look on his face. He opened one of his desk drawers and took out a piece of tissue paper. Then, without any warning, he jumped up from his chair, rushed around the desk to where Mary was standing, and grabbed Stinky off of Mary’s shoulder with the tissue paper. Then, before Mary could get a word out, he rushed into the public Men’s room, threw Stinky and the tissue stated toilet and flushed it. A s her returned he said, “You had a stink bug on your shoulder.”

    Mary was dumbfounded by what had just occurred. She stuttered and stammered for a few seconds and the shouted, “That was my friend! You just killed my friend!”

    The sheriff. who was now back behind his desk, smiled at first and then burst out laughing.

    Mary’s eyes bored into him as she shouted, “This is no laughing matter! You just killed my friend!”

    Still laughing, the Sheriff summed up his view of the events. “You knock on the Sheriff’s Office door, then come in looking for two hairy beasts with your dear friend the stink bug. Did I leave anything out?”

    Mary was speechless so the Sheriff continued, “I don’t know if you are playing some kind of joke on me or if you are certifiably crazy. I do know that you had better get out of here before I arrest you and send you to the nut ward up at the Olympia Hospital.”

    Still stunned by what had happened, Mary turned and left the office. Once outside, she began to walk slowly down the street without any specific destination.

    At the same time, Lyman Hardy was returning home, after having run an errand, and saw Mary. He could tell by the expression on her face and by the way she walked, that something was wrong. He hurried over to her and asked, “Are you ok ma’am?”

    Mary looked at Lyman with a blank stare and said, “The Sheriff just killed my friend.”

    “What?” exclaimed Lyman. “The Sheriff did what?”

    “He killed my friend!” Mary repeated.

    “How did he do that?” Lyman asked. “I didn't hear a gunshot.”

    “No!” Mary yelled at Lyman. “He didn't shoot him. He flushed him down the toilet!”

    Lyman fought back the urge to laugh and decided to change the subject. “My name is Lyman Hardy,” he said. “I don't recall ever seeing you around town. Are you visiting someone?”

    “No,” she told him. “I'm here looking for two large and hairy beasts.” Suddenly the stupor she was in disappeared and she realized that she had said way too much to both this guy and the Sheriff.

    “Two large hairy beasts?” Lyman repeated.

    “Never mind,” Mary replied. “Thank you for your concern but I'm fine now and need to get going.”

    As Mary turned and began to walk away, Lyman blurted out, “My brother and me are the ones who caught them!”

    Mary stopped and turned back to Lyman. “What do you mean?” she asked. She was calm on the outside but inside she was raging.

    “My brother Norton and I set out traps and when one of them got caught, we shot them with tranquilizer darts,” Lyman explained.

    Mary was starting to lose control of her anger as she demanded to know, “Why would you do something like that?”

    Lyman could see Mary’s anger growing and stood there staring at the ground, unwilling to make eye-contact with Mary.

    “Tell me!” Mary demanded anew. “I really want to know.

    Lyman stood there silent for a while and then finally answered, “I don’t know.”

    Mary fought to regain control of her emotions and succeeded to some extent. Calmly she asked Lyman, “Where are they now/”

    Lyman just stood there, looking at the ground, afraid to talk.

    “Tell me!” Mary shouted.

    It was as though Mary had punched a hole in a dam. Words started gushing out of Lyman’s mouth.

“We were taking them to see Doc Miller when Mr. Woody told us that we would be in trouble if the sheriff found out so we sold them to him. He put them in a cage next to his store and then sold them to the university. Then the university came and took them away.”

    Mary was beginning to lose control again and shouted. “Where is your brother?”

    Lyman took a step back and looked like he was going to run.

    “If you so much as take one step away from me, what you did to those children will pale in comparison to what I will do to you!” Mary threatened. “Where is your brother!”

    “He’s at home,” Lyman stammered.

    “Let’s go get him!” Mary ordered.

    Lyman was now shaking as he asked, in a barely perceptible tone, “What are you going to do with us?”

    “You two are going to help me get those children back!” Mary told him.

    Confused and afraid, but also curious, Lyman summoned up the courage to ask, “Why do you keep calling them children?”

    Mary stared at him, unsure of how to answer that question. She decided to tell the truth. “Because they are children,” she replied. “They are two young members of the Hairon Race and their parents are worried sick about them.”

    Even more confused now, Lyman asked, “What is a Hairon?”

    “You already know more than you should,” Mary admitted. “Take me to your brother!”

    Without argument, Lyman led Mary back through the town to where he and Norton lived. Lyman opened the door and called his brother, “Hey Norton! Come here!”

    A few seconds later Norton came to the door. “What do you want Lyman? I’m watching the game!”

Then he spotted Mary standing there with Lyman. “Who are you pretty lady?’ Norton asked in his most seductive voice.

    “She came her for the two Bigfoots,” Lyman told Norton.

    Norton looked and Mary and said, “They’re gone. We sold them.”

    “I know,” Mary responded. “You brother told me all about it. That’s why you two are going to help me set them free.”

    “Ya Norton!” Lyman interjected. “They are just children!”

    Norton looked at both of them and then shook his clenched fist at Mary. “Beat it lady! Before you get hurt!” he threatened,

    Lyman moved away from Mary and stood next to Norton. “Ya! Beat it!” he echoed.

    Mary just smiled at them and asked, “Would you like their parents to stop by and explain why you are going to help me? If you’d like an example of how they explain things, go back to where you trapped their kids and look at your traps. You’ll find that one of them is torn completely in half.”

    This got their attention but they stood their ground.

    “Their parents are about eight feet tall and weigh nearly four hundred pounds,” Mary explained. “Oh! One more thing. They get real angry when someone messes with their kids!”

    Just then Mary felt something hit her left shoulder. She looked at it and there stood Stinky. “Stinky!” she shouted. “I thought you were dead! How did you escape?”

    Stinky chuckled and explained, “Over the millennia my kind has been tossed into lots and lots of toilets. We’ve adapted to it and now it is almost impossible to drown a stink bug.”

    “I am so happy that you are alive!” Mary exclaimed tearfully.

    “Don’t tell anyone are secret!” Stinky added with a wink.

    “What’s going on here?” asked a very confused Norton. “How can that stink bug talk?”

    Stinky replied, “The same way you do, I imagine.”

    “No,” said Norton. “I mean, insects can’t talk!”

    “All the insects I know can,” Stinky retorted. “What’s going on here Mary?”

    “These are the humans that captured the Hairon kids,” Mary replied. “I was just telling giving them a chance to help us get them back before the parents pay them a visit.”

    “That would be ugly!” Stinky responded. “Are they coming with us?”

    “No Stinky,” Mary answered. “They told me to leave before I get hurt.”

    “I see,” Stinky replied. “I guess I better fly back and get the parents. It shouldn’t take long.”

    “Wait!” shouted Norton. “We’ll help you!”

    “Good decision,” Mary said, “Now tell me where they are and we can get started.”

    “Mr. Woody sold them to Olympia State University and two trucks took them there yesterday,” Norton explained.

    “That’s right!” Lyman agreed.

    “How far is that from here,” Mary asked.

    Lyman and Norton looked at one another, waiting for the other to answer. Norton finally said, “It's about sixty miles.”

    “Do you have any form of transportation to get us to the university?” Mary asked the brothers.

    Norton and Lyman looked at one another again. Norton, again, took the initiative and said, “No, I’m afraid not.”

    “We don’t travel much,” added Lyman.

    Norton then explained that whenever they have to go somewhere outside on Mossyrock, they have to take the bus.

    This was not exactly what Mary had hoped for and she tried to think of an alternate form of transportation that would get all of them to Olympia. She and Stinky could fly there but if she needed more help, Norton and Lyman would have to be there too. She soon realized that taking the bus was going to be their only option for this leg of the trip.

    “We can take the bus to Olympia and free the Hairon children but we won’t be able to come back here and use this portal to get them home,” Mary explained. “Also, I don’t see us taking the bus back with two Hairons.”

    “There are no portal around Olympia,” Stingy reported. “The nearest would be near Seattle.”

    “How far is it from Olympia to Seattle?” Mary asked Lyman and Norton.

    Norton spoke right up this time, “About sixty miles, Same as from her to Olympia.”

    “How are we going to get from Olympia State University to Seattle with two large Hairons traveling with us?” was Mary’s next question.

    Silently, under his breath Norton said to himself. “Too bad we don’t have a boat.”

    “What did you say” asked Mary.

    Surprised, Norton just said, “Nothing, I was just thinking out loud.”

    “That’s ok,” Mary assured him. What were you thinking?”

    “Well,” Norton began to explain. “Olympia is on the end of the Puget Sound and Seattle is on the Puget Sound. I was thinking that if we had a boat, we could go by water.”

    “That would be a great idea,” Mary agreed. “If we had a boat.”

    “We could rent one,” Lyman said quietly, not certain whether he wanted to be heard or not.

    “I'm not sure if I heard you right Lyman,” Mary said. “Did you say we could rent one?”

    “Maybe,” he replied as he looked nervously at Norton.

    Lyman was now wishing that he hadn't said anything. If he continued on this path, he was sure that Norton would become very upset with him. He just kept staring at Norton while Norton looked back at him quizzically.

    “Just how could we rent a boat Lyman?” Mary asked a little impatiently.

    After a long period of silence, with everyone staring at him, Lyman finally answered. “We got five hundred dollars for the Bigfoots. We could use that money to rent a boat.” He shot Norton a look, waiting for him to blow up. He didn't have to wait long.

    “What are you talking about?” Norton exclaimed loudly. “That is all the money we have and I’m not spending it on a boat to rescue Bigfoot!”

    “We got that money because we captured and sold someone’s kids!” Lyman shouted back.

    “We trapped a couple of animals and sold them!’ Norton countered. “That’s what trappers do!”

    “They aren’t just dumb animals Norton!” Lyman replied. “They’re intelligent and live in communities, just like we do!”

      Norton pointed at Mary and asked brusquely, “Did she tell you that? She probably wants them so she can sell them to someone else!”

    “That’s enough!” Mary shouted at both of them. “I’ve heard quite enough of you two arguing about something you don’t even understand. Lyman is right. Those children you captured are Hairons and they are members of a very old and proud civilization.”

    “I don’t see any old and proud civilization!” Norton shot back in anger.

    “I doubt that you ever will unless those children are harmed in any way,” Mary told him.

    “Are you threatening me?” Norton challenged.

    Having heard enough, Stinky interrupted, “She’s not threatening you. She is just giving you the facts. Luckily, if we find them and return them to their family, there won’t be any problem.”

    “That thing talking freaks me out!” Norton complained. “You can do whatever you want but not with my money!”

    “Then we’ll use my half!” Lyman offered.

    “If that’s what you want to do with your money, then fine!” Norton responded. Since there was nowhere safe to keep the money, Norton had it in his pocket. He took out the wad of bills and counted out two-hundred and fifty dollars. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Norton asked.

    “Yes I am sure,” Lyman told him.

    “Then here,” Norton said and handed the money, he had just counted out, to Lyman,

    “What are you going to do now Norton?” Lyman asked his brother.

    “I’m going to go back home.” Norton answered.

    “I was hoping that you would come with us,” Lyman told Norton.

    “No way!” Norton exclaimed. “I have no idea who she is or what that is,” pointing to Stinky.

    “I’m sorry to hear that,” Lyman said sadly. He then turned to Mary and Stinky and said, “Let’s go.” At that point, the two brothers parted company.

    Lyman watched his brother walking away and felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach. He and Norton did everything together until now. He wondered if anything would ever be the same.

    “Take us to the bus station,” Mary told Lyman.

    The sound of Mary’s voice brought Lyman back to task at hand. “Right!” he said, a bit too loud.

    “Are you going to be alright?” Mary asked.

    “I’ll be fine, “Lyman replied. “The bus station is just a little way from here, follow me.”

    After having walked for nearly a half an hour Stinky spoke up. “I thought you said the bus station was just a short distance away.”

    “Did I?” replied Lyman. “I don’t remember saying that. My mind must have been elsewhere.”

    “So where is the bus station?” Mary asked, a little more assertively.

    Lyman looked around, as if trying to figure out where he was and finally answered. “I’m sorry! We passed it. We need to go back down Hope Street to Williams and then over to the Mini-mart. The bus stops there.”

    Stinky moved close to Mary’s ear and whispered something to her.

    Mary replied softly, “You’re right. He isn’t going to be any help without his brother. You better go find him and convince him to join us.”

    “I’ll do my best,” Stinky responded and took off to find Norton.

    “Meet us at the mini-mart!” Mary yelled.

    Stinky flew back to where they had separated a half hour earlier and then flew in the direction Norton departed. he didn’t have to go very far before he found Norton sitting on a bench next to a baseball diamond. He swept down and hovered right in front of Norton’s face and said, “Your brother needs you!”

    To his surprise, Norton wasn’t surprised, neither at seeing a stink bug hovering in front of his face nor that his brother was having trouble functioning without him. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “Lyman is great when we are together but has a lot of trouble thinking straight when we are separated.”

    Stinky landed next to him and asked, “If you knew he had trouble functioning without you, why did you abandon him?”

    “He made me mad when he tried to give our money away without asking me first!” Norton complained to Stinky.

    “You got that money by selling two children to be a sideshow act!” Stinky reminded him. “I think your brother knows how wrong that was and doesn’t want that money anymore.

    ”Ya, I know!” Norton replied. “I don’t want it anymore either. I just didn’t want my brother telling me what to do with my money!”

    “So you left because your ego was hurt?” Stinky said in exasperation.

    Norton was embarrassed by his behavior didn’t know what to do. He could run away and hide or go back and help. He knew that if he ran away, this would haunt him for the rest of his life but if he went back, he knew he wouldn't have their respect and that would hurt his ego even more.

    Stinky could see that Norton was struggling but also knew that they didn’t have all day to wait for him to make a decision. Not just a decision though, but the decision to come back and help. He decided to push the issue. “You know Norton, in the grand scheme of things, what you did isn’t a big deal as long as you make it right,” Stinky told him. “No one will even think twice about it once you rejoin the team and we are on our way but you need to decide right now!”

    Norton wasn’t sure that Stinky was right but those were the words he needed to hear. “Ok,” he responded. “Let’s go!”

    Norton and Stinky quickly caught up with the others and, to his surprise, Lyman and Mary were glad to see him. “Thanks for coming back, Mary told him. “I don’t think we can do this without your help.”

    Norton smiled and gave his brother a big hug. “What’s the plan?” he asked.

    “We’re going to take the bus to Olympia and then figure out what to do next once we get there and see what we are up against,” Mary explained.

    Lyman’s transformation was amazing. Once his brother returned he became steadfast and decisive. He led them to the bus station and bought everyone a ticket. The next bus to Olympia was already loading when they got there so they got right on. A few minutes later they were on their way to Olympia and whatever awaited them there.

 

Chapter sixteen

 

    When Heron woke up he could see that he was no longer in the enclosure. He was lying on a table, looking into a highly polished convex metal bowl with a light in the center, right above his head. The light shined into the bowl and was reflected outward by the convex shape, illuminating his head and shoulders. He then realized that he was strapped to the table. He struggled to free himself but there was very little slack in his restraints. He tried to turn his head to look around but, it too, was restrained. Hairons have excellent peripheral vision so he could see quite a bit on either side of him. What he saw was completely foreign to him. The walls were lined with metal boxes, stacked one on top of the other. On these boxes were rows and rows of colored lights. Some were flashing on and off and some glowed brightly. Still others did not shine at all. Several of the boxes had small windows across which straight wavy or jagged lines moved. As his mind cleared he began to hear rhythmic beeping and clicking sounds. He then noticed that he could see himself in the polished metal of the light above him. It acted as a mirror, albeit a distorted one. Distorted or not, he could clearly see that all the hair had been removed from his head and small patches attached to his bare scalp. The patches were too numerous to count. Protruding from each patch was a wire leading away from his head. He was unable to see where these wires terminated. He struggled harder and harder and began to roar and growl. His initial feeling of fear was now replaced by one of rage and hostility. He noticed that the more he struggled and roared, the more lights blinked on and off.    

     Lying there, he had no sense of time and had no idea how long this ordeal lasted but finally someone entered the room. The person wore a one-piece white suit that covered their entire body and head. The person stopped near his feet and examined a bag of fluid hanging from a hooked rod the extended from the ceiling. This was the first time Heron noticed this. There was clear tubing coming out of the bottom of the bag. Heron followed the tubing and, again for the first time, noticed that the other end of the tubing ended at his right foot. Now that he saw this he felt a pinching pain where the tubing ended. After examining the bag of fluid, the person removed a something from their pocket. Heron did not recognize what it was but did see a very sharp needle on the end of it and that it was full of an amber fluid. The person stuck the needle into the tubing and pushed on the end of the fluid filled object. The object became shorter as the fluid ran into the tubing. The room went black.   In another part of the building, Vita was undergoing the identical treatment. The only difference is that she did not struggle at all but just let what was going to happen to her, happen.

    Heron woke up back in his enclosure and immediately moved to the window to see if Vita was still there. She was lying on the floor of her enclosure. He watched her closely to see if she was breathing. To his great relief, her chest was rising and falling.

 

Chapter seventeen

 

    The bus ride from Mossyrock to Olympia took, close to, two hours during which hardly a word was spoken, everyone had their own thoughts and fears to contend with and they did so in silence. Finally, just before they arrived at the Olympia Bus Depot, Mary broke the silence. She told the others, “I think the first thing we should do is go to the University and find out exactly where the Hairon children are being kept.”

    Everyone agreed with Mary. Once they knew what they were up against, they could formulate a plan and secure whatever they needed to complete the rescue. This plan had to be altered immediately once they got off of the bus and got a look at the inhabitants of Olympia. It was obvious that the coveralls, flannel shirts and baseball caps Lyman and Norton were wearing made them stick out like a sore thumb. The success of whatever plan they devised would depend on them blending in and that they, most definitely, did not do.

    “Maybe the first thing we should do is buy more appropriate clothes for you guys,” Stinky strongly suggested.

    Norton was about to argue until he saw the expression on Mary’s face. The expression said, loud and clear, “You and Lyman are going to buy yourselves a new set of clothes that blended in with what other people were wearing.”

    Mary looked around the station and quickly spotted what she was looking for, a police officer. “Wait here,” she told the others. She walked over to the policeman who was just standing there, keeping an eye on the people who were coming and going. “Excuse me officer,” said politely.

    “Can I help your ma’am?” the policeman replied.

    “I hope so,” Mary told him. “This is my first time in Olympia and I need to find somewhere to buy some things I need that won’t cost me an arm and a leg.”

    The policeman laughed and said, “That is the trick, isn’t it? I would suggest that you go to the Franklin’s Superstore on Harrison Avenue.”

    “Is there a bus that goes there?” Mary inquired.

    “Sure,” the policeman replied. “Go out on Seventh Avenue and take the six bus west. It’s about two miles from here.”

    Mary thanked the policeman and rejoined the others. They followed the policeman’s instructions and were at the Franklin’s Superstore a half an hour later.

    The brothers had worn coveralls for as long as they could remember and has no fashion sense at all. Stinky had six legs so he wasn't going to be much help picking out human clothes. It was up to Mary to select something appropriate for their mission. She, sort of, expected this to happen since it was first discovered that they needed new clothes and had been making mental notes about what men in their age group were wearing. For Norton she selected a pair of khaki colored Cargo Pants and a red and white striped Polo shirt. Lyman got a pair of Army Green Cargo Pants and a Navy Blue and green striped Polo. They each paid for their own clothes and used the Men's Room to change into them. With their old clothes packed away in the shopping bags, they blended in beautifully. Mary also had the boys buy a street map of Olympia.

    Near the entrance of the superstore there was a snack bar with tables and chairs. Mary asked, “Is anyone as hungry as I am?”

    Lyman answered eagerly, “I'm starving!”

    Norton’s reply was a little more colorful, “I could eat the north end of a southbound skunk!”

    “I'm good,” was Stinky’s response.

    “Let's stop here and get something to eat,” Mary suggested.  

    Lyman and Norton didn’t need to be told twice. They made a beeline for the food counter. As they passed, Mary yelled, “Get me a meat sandwich and a glass of water!”

    Mary and Stinky sat down at an empty table and unfolded the map. She located their current location and then searched for the university. There was a list of “Interesting Sites” on the map with map `coordinates. She found Olympia State University and the coordinates for it. It was located at H4. She found H at the top of the map and 4 along the side. The lines crossed at a spot about four miles from where they now were. Even more interesting than that was that the university is located less than a mile from a portion of Puget Sound.

    Lyman and Norton returned shortly with their food and beverages. Lyman handed Mary a roast beef sandwich on whole wheat bread. She ate the meat and threw the rest of the sandwich in the trash can. She drank the water they brought her and she was ready to go. The humans in the group took a little longer to eat their meals but they were all ready to go within twenty minutes.

    “According to this map, the university isn’t very far from here,” Mary informed the others. “It’s too far to walk though so we’ll need to take another bus.”

    “What bus do we take?” Stinky asked,

    “I don’t know,” Mary told Stinky. “But I’ll find out.”

    The group left Franklin’s and went back to the bus stop. Within minutes a bus stopped to pick them up. The bus door opened and Mary asked, “Does this bus go to the university?”

    The driver said, No. You need to take and Evergreen Parkway Bus.”

    Mary continued her inquiry, “Does that bus stop here?”

    “No,” said the driver, then added. “But get on this bus and I’ll give you a transfer when we get to the Parkway.”

    They all got on the bus as directed and it drove off. Three stops later the driver told Mary, “This is where you will transfer to the Evergreen Parkway bus.” They all got up and, when the bus stopped, the driver gave them each a transfer slip. “They run every half hour so there should be one along shortly,” the driver added.

    “Thank you for your help,” Mary told the driver and they all got off the bus.

    Just as the bus driver had said, an Evergreen Parkway Bus came along after just a short wait. They got on the bus, gave the driver their transfers and sat down,

    “What’s the plan when we get there.” Stinky asked Mary.

    “I guess we are just going to have to search each building until we find them,” Mary replied. “We can split up into two teams to make the searching a little faster.”

    “I can search by myself,” Stinky volunteered.

    Mary agreed, “Ok then, three teams,”

    Stinky brought up a problem. “How will me communicate if we find something,”

    “Good question!” Mary admitted. “I guess we’ll just have to meet somewhere every hour until we find them.”

    “That will work,” Stinky replied.

    They were hardly settled in their seats before they saw the university up ahead. A couple minutes later the bus stopped in front of the Student Union Building and everyone got off. The task they had set for themselves suddenly became much greater than they expected. The Olympia State University was vast and consisted of a lot more buildings than they were ready for.

    “This is going to take a lot longer than I thought, “Norton said.

    “We will have to prioritize then,” Mary told them. “Only search science and research buildings to begin with. Meet right here in one hour.”

    The two teams and Stinky set off in different directions. Once Lyman and Norton were out of sight, Mary ducked into a doorway that hid her from view and turned back into a praying mantis. Her reasoning for doing this was solid. As a praying mantis she could fly more quickly from building to building than she could by walking and she was able gain entry into locked buildings through cracks or windows that had been left ajar.  

    For hours they searched building after building, looking for any sign of the Hairon children. Each hour they would meet back at the Student Union and compare notes, then, off again.

    Norton and Lyman were finding it difficult, if not impossible, to gain entry into some of the more sensitive areas of the campus so they ended up concentrating their efforts on dorms, and fraternity and sorority houses. They could find no one who had seen or heard of what they sought.

    Stinky and Mary weren’t having any success either. They had searched every lab and science building on the campus without even finding a sign of Vita or Heron. At the end of their last hour of searching they were all sitting in front of the Student Union feeling quite depressed.

    Stinky exclaimed, “They aren’t here anywhere!”

    Mary, having re-assumed her human identity, replied, “They have to be somewhere on this campus and there are only so many places that you can hide two Hairons. They’re big and they’re loud!”

    “What are we going to do now?” Lyman inquired.

    “Ya,” added Norton. “No one we talked to had any idea what we were talking about. They hadn’t heard or saw them and they thought we were crazy when we described what we were looking for.”

    “There is only one thing we can do,” Mary announced. “We have to start all over and re-examine every building even closer than last time. We know that they are here somewhere!”

    Lyman and Norton looked at one another, rolled their eyes and moaned, “You’ve got to be kidding!”

    “Do you have a better idea? “ Mary asked.

    The two brothers just stood there looking at one another.

    Mary and Stinky waited for an answer and one name came, Mary simply said, “That’s what I thought.”

    They were about to proceed when Stinky said, “Wait!”

    The meaning of a sign that they had all seen many times since they arrived on campus finally became clear to him. The sign said, “Watch Us Grow.” Under those words were pictures of architectural renderings of several new buildings that were due to open in just a couple of weeks. Most of the buildings were dorms and administrative buildings but one caught his eye. They were building a Marine Biology Center complete with a large fresh and saltwater aquarium.

    “We haven’t searched the new construction!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. “That would be the perfect place to hide something that you aren’t prepared to share with the public yet.”

    “You’re right Stinky!” Mary agreed. “That would be the perfect place to hide them. I don’t know how we missed them. We need to search those buildings!”

    Stinky directed everyone’s attention to the sign announcing the new construction and said, “The only building I seen on there, that would fit their needs, is the new aquarium.”

    “I agree,” Mary replied. “Let’s start there.”

    Stinky looked at the map on the sign and told Mary. “It’s all the way over on the far side of the campus. Let’s fly over there to save time.”

    Mary shook her head and said, “I don’t think that I could change back to a praying mantis right now. I’ve switched too much recently and need to rest.”

    “What do you want us to do?” Asked Lyman.

    “There isn’t really anything that you can do until we find them,” Mary told Lyman.

    “Why don’t I fly over to the aquarium and look around by myself.” Stinky suggested.

    “I like that idea, “Mary replied. “We’ll wait here until you get back.”

    Stinky left immediately for the new Marine Biology Building. It was a long way to fly for such a small bug and took a little more than fifteen minutes to get there. As he approached the building he could see that his efforts weren’t wasted. Something was going on at the site. There were several cars and trucks parked outside and people were coming and going. Getting into the building was no problem at all. He just waited until someone opened the door, then he flew right in. The door led to the reception area. The floor was covered with drop cloths. He was beginning to become fatigued from all the flying he had just done. The walls and ceiling were newly painted so he couldn’t land on them. He was hesitant about landing on the floor and running the risk of being squished but he had to land soon. In desperation he landed on the back of someone who had just entered the building. Luckily the person did not feel him land. His color blended well with the brown jacket the person was wearing so no one noticed him. He whispered to himself, “Nice going Stinky!” Since he was well camouflaged on this man's back, he decided to stay there and see where they were going.

    His ride continued down the corridor and passed through a double door at the other end. The moment he entered he was met by another man and a woman. They were both wearing white lab coats with “Olympia State University” embroidered over the left breast pocket. They seemed to be approximately the same age was Lyman and Norton. His ride asked, “How did the testing go last night?”

    The woman replied, “It went very well Professor MacDaniels.” As she spoke, she handed the professor a clip board. The professor studied the papers attached to the board and, after a couple minutes, responded. “Are you sure that this data is accurate?”

    This time the man spoke up, “Yes professor. As you can see, both Bigfoots have similar wave patterns. It would be highly unlikely that two different electroencephalographs would have the same results if they weren't real.”

    “Of course you are correct,” the professor said, “but this shows that their brain waves are almost identical to humans!”

    “I know professor!” the girl exclaimed in a voice an octave higher than before. “We couldn't believe what we were seeing as the results came out!”

    “Let's go have a look at them,” Professor MacDaniels said as he headed for another double door at the other end of the room.

    Stinky was excited because he knew that humans called the Hairons Bigfoots. He had found the Hairon children and was about to see where they are being held against their will.

    Stinky's current form of transportation took a left turn outside the back double door and proceeded down a gently sloping and curving ramp. On either side of the ramp were empty aquariums, set into the wall. The ramp was at least fifty yards long and made a ninety degree turn before it finally ended in a glass-lined vestibule. The vestibule was about twenty feet long and fifty feet wide. A closer look at the revealed that the vestibule was going to be surrounded by one large aquarium going from the floor on one side, up the wall, curving into a ceiling and curving back down the opposite wall to the floor.

    Stinky couldn’t help but to be impressed by this. He hoped that when this place is opened, he could visit it and see the completed product. Right now he had important business to attend to that required his complete attention. He refocused.

    Across the vestibule were six doors. Stinky assumed that this was the entrance to the main aquarium. Upon entering, he found that he assumed wrong. His human carrier and accompanying toadies had entered an auditorium. There were two sections of stadium seating with padded seats separated by a center aisle. On either side of was another aisle, along the walls. In the front was a raised platform and a lectern. There was a single door on both sides of the platform.

    His ride went left, down the aisle, and out the door. They had entered a room that was about thirty feet wide and very long. He could see that the room made a right angle turn at the end. The entire wall on both sides of the room consisted of multiple chambers with glass windows on the room side. The chambers were separated by thin, opaque panels, six inches thick.

    He rode his human as it moved deeper into the room. about two-thirds of the way into the room his human stopped and Stinky got his first look at the captive Hairons. They were in opposite chambers. One of them was pacing back and forth inside the chamber. The other was just sitting there looking straight ahead.

    Stinky was so excited that he was having difficulty concentrating. He took several deep breaths and was able to calm himself down. He needed to get into those tanks and talk to the inhabitants. The walls were solid but the ceilings had several small holes that he would have no trouble getting through. He just find a way to get to them. Suddenly it struck him! His mind raced back to a door he’d seen just after entering this room. “That has to be it,” he thought to himself. He hadn’t paid any attention to it because he was captivated by what was inside the room. He looked back in the direction they had come and, sure enough, there was a door just before the first chamber.

    Without further thought, he took flight. The buzzing he made, as his wings rapidly flapped, immediately caught everyone’s attention.

    “There aren’t supposed to be any bugs in this room!” exclaimed Professor MacDaniels. “Kill it!”

    “With what?” the woman asked.

     They all looked around for some sort of weapon they could use to slay the invading beast but found nothing. While their futile search took place, Stinky made his way to the door, landed on floor in front of it and ducked under the space between the door and the floor.

    A short distance into the room there was another door that, Stinky figured, had to lead behind the chambers. He flew over to it and ducked under this one too. Sure enough, he was behind the chambers. He looked up and saw that there was a space above the chambers. Up the went and on to the roof of one of the chambers. The holes he saw from the outside were there and huge compared to the size of his body. He thought, “Now I have to find which ones were holding the Hairon children. He flew from roof to roof, peering into each one though one of the holes. He reached the fifth chamber’s roof and saw what he was looking for. Pacing back and forth was the male Hairon.

    “Hello!” Stinky shouted into the chamber.

    The Hairon stopped and looked around, “Who’s there? Where are you?” he growled.

    “Up here!” Stinky shouted a little louder.

    The Hairon looked up and saw Stinky looking down at him through the hole in the ceiling and inquired, “Who are you?

    “My name is Stinky,” Stinky answered. “I’m here to rescue you. What is your name?” For his efforts all Stinky received was an incredulous look of disbelief.

    “Ok,” the Hairon responded, drawing out the “O” in ok. “My name is Heron.”

    Only then did it dawn on Stinky what the look he was getting meant. “Oh!” he exclaimed loudly. “I’m not alone! There are three others with me.”

    “Are they whatever you are too?” Heron asked skeptically.

    “Oh no!” Stinky replied. “They are full grown people!”

    Now Heron was getting excited. “Where are they?” he demanded to know and added. “You have to rescue my sister too!”

    “Yes. We know about your sister,” Stinky told him. “They aren’t here right now. I went ahead to see if I could find you first.”

    “What’s your plan?’ Heron wanted to know.

    “We don’t have a plan yet” Stinky told him. “We had to know where you were first.”

    “When are you going to get us out of here?” Heron demanded.

    “Soon,” Stinky reassured him. “I’m going to check on your sister now and then report back to my group. What is your sister’s name?”

    “Her name is Vita,” Heron told Stinky. “Please hurry!”

    “We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Stinky responded and then took off to find Vita.

    Stinky knew that Vita’s chamber was opposite Heron’s so he followed the line of chambers around to the other side. He proceeded as before, looking into each chamber through a roof hole, until he found her. She was still sitting on the floor, staring straight ahead. “Hello! Vita! Up here!” he shouted down through the hole.

    Vita did not move. He repeated his greeting but still got no response. He was going to have to enter the chamber. He dropped through the hole and flew down to Vita’s shoulder. He, purposely, made a hard landing to try to get her attention. It didn’t work. She just continued staring off into the distance. There was one more thing he wanted to do before he had to go back and report her condition to Mary. Moving across her shoulder, close to her ear, he screamed as loud as he could, “Hey Vita!”

    Vita made a slight movement in repose to his screaming in her ear but continued staring straight ahead.

    Across the way Stingy could see Heron watching what I was doing. He looked very sad. He had accomplished what he had set out to do so now it was time to get back to Mary and the others and formulate a plan to rescue Heron and Vita. Stinky flew up and out the hole he had entered. He started to backtrack the route that the professor had taken when he heard a loud voice in the vestibule. Wanting to see what all the yelling was about, Stinky slid under the door, flew across the auditorium and slid into the vestibule. Professor MacMichaels was having a heated discussion with someone.

    “You can’t do that to these things Jack!” he shouted. “I have just gotten evidence that shows that they are human-like and of some intelligence!”

    Jack screamed back, “You knew that one of these beasts was going to be dissected when we bought them! You ran your tests and got your data, now it is my turn. Tell me which one I can have and I will have it moved to my lab in the morning.”

    “You can’t have either one!” Professor MacMichaels continued to yell. “These are intelligent creatures I tell you!”

    “Listen Mac,” Jack said calmly. “I don’t care what you think you discovered. A deal is a deal and I am holding you to it. Which one should I take?”

    “I told you already Jack!” the professor replied. “Neither!”

    “Fine then,” Jack said, throwing up his hands. “I’ll be back tomorrow and I’ll choose myself. Good night.” He turned a began to walk away.

    Professor MacMichaels yelled after him, “We’ll see about that!” He too then left the building.

    Stinky’s mind was whirling a mile a minute. “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!” he repeated over and over as he walked in circles. Finally, he left the vestibule, exited the building and flew off to find Mary repeating, over and over, under his breath, “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!”

    Stinky flew straight to the Student Union where he hoped to find Mary. To his relief, he could see her and the others sitting on the steps waiting for his return. The colder he got, the louder his mantra became, “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!”

    Mary heard Stinky before she saw him and, immediately, knew something was wrong.

    Stinky swooped down towards Mary’s shoulder, hit it and rolled over several times before stopping, all the while screaming, “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!”

    Mary picked Stinky off of her shoulder and held him in the palm of her hand. Stinky was, again, walking in circles. She brought him up to eye level. “Stinky!” she yelled. “Tell me what’s wrong! What happened?”

    Stinky stopped and yelled, “They’re going to kill one of them tomorrow!”

    Lyman and Norton had been standing off to the side but, when they heard what Stinky said, they rushed over to Mary. “We’ve got to do something now!” Lyman shouted.

    “Let me think!” Mary demanded. She put Stinky back on her shoulder and walked a short distance away from the others. “We’re going to need that boat tonight!” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

    “We’ll get a boat!” Norton replied

    “Right!” Lyman agreed. “Where should we take it?”

    Mary walked back to where the boys were standing. She opened the map and examined it closely.

The university was less than a mile from the water. She immediately spotted a small marina at a place called White Point. It was about a two-mile drive from the school. She pointed to the marina and told Lyman and Norton, “You have got to get a boat to this spot as quickly as you can. I don’t care how you do it but you must get it done!”

     Lyman looked Mary in the eye and responded, “You can consider it done!”

    “You can count on us!” Norton added.

    “Ok, we’re all counting on you,” Mary told them. “Stinky and I are going after the Hairons and we’ll meet you there are soon as we can! Let’s get to it!”

    Norton and Lyman headed for White Point and as Mary moved out of everyone’s view. Once she was out of sight, she turned back to praying mantis form and flew off with Stinky.

    If it had been during the day, Norton and Lyman would have made a straight line to White Point, through the dense woods but it was night and they couldn’t see ten feet into the tree line. They had to follow the roads and there was no straight route. It took them about forty minutes to get to the marina but when they arrived they were pleased by what they saw. There were several power boats moored there that would do the job and no guard. They split up and went from boat to boat, hoping that someone had left the keys in the ignition but no one was going to make their job easy for them.

    Mary and Stinky made the flight to the Marine Biology Building in record time. When they arrived, all the activity that Stinky had encountered earlier was over and no one was around and there was only one car left in the lot. Getting into the building wasn’t going to be as easy as it was last time. They flew up to the roof to see if there was an entry point up there. Two rows of ventilator turbines immediately caught their attention.

    Stinky landed on one of them and crawled inside. “Come here Mary!” he shouted when he discovered that, at least, this particular vent was not attached to anything on the inside of the building.

    Mary joined him on the inside of the vent and they both flew inside. They found themselves in, what looked like the skeleton of a future cafeteria. “Where are they Stinky, “Mary asked.

    “I only saw a small portion of the interior Mary,” Stinky replied sadly.

    “Let’s look around until you see something familiar,” Mary suggested.

    “Good idea!” Stinky agreed and took off, with Mary following close behind.

    Being unable to find a boat that was ready to be stolen, the boys had to think of something else. The stakes were high and they had made a promise. Too much depended on their success for them to even entertain the thought of failing.

     “Hey!” Norton exclaimed. “Remember how we started Old Man Martin’s tractor that night?”

     “Ya,” Lyman responded. “You twisted a couple of wires together and it started right up. Do you remember how you did that?”

     “I could do it blindfolded!” Norton boasted.

     “Do you think a boat works the same way?” Lyman inquired.

     “Let's find out,” Norton replied. “Which one should we take?”

     “I know exactly which one!” Lyman told his brother. “Follow me.”

     Lyman led Norton down the boardwalk and pointed.

     “On ya” Lyman agreed. “That’s the one!”

     They were standing next to a sleek, forty-foot-long, beauty. Its low profile, white color and swept back design made it appear that flying across the water even as it just stood there. They climbed aboard and went up to the bridge.

     “See if you can start it!” Lyman prodded his brother

     “OK, wish me luck,” Norton answered. He got down on his knees and reached under the control panel. He felt around for a wire harness. The smile that suddenly spread across his face told Lyman that his brother had found what he was looking for.

     “Did you find something?” Lyman asked even though he already knew the answer.

     “I sure did,” Norton assured his brother. He then yanked on the harness and freed it from whatever was holding it in place. As it came into view another broad smile gave Lyman hope.

     Lyman had no idea what Norton was doing. With great aplomb and dexterity, his brother was pulling wires loose and twisting ends together. Now he had just two loose ends. “This is it Lyman!” North announced.

    “Do it Norton!” Urged Lyman.

     Norton touched the last two ends together. There was a spark, a second or two of nothing and a roar as the powerful marine engineer of this aquatic beauty sprang to life.

      “Let's take it out into open water and watch for Mary,” Lyman told Norton.

      Lyman untied the lines holding the boat to the pier. He gave his brother a thumbs up and Norton engaged the prop and, slowly, pushed the throttle forward. He turned the wheel to the right and the boat moved forward, away from the pier. Once he was in the clear, Norton pushed the throttle forward a little more and the boat jumped forward as its bow lifted out of the water. Norton steered a course away from the pier and out into open water. He moved to a spot where they had a clear view of the entirely shoreline and pulled the throttle back. They sat there in the dark and waited for Mary.

    The new Marine Biology Building on the campus of the Olympia State University is a very large building. Stinky and Mary flew through it, at breakneck speed, searching for the captive Hairon children. They flew down corridor after corridor and went under door after door. Mary yelled, “Stop!” and landed. “There has got to be a better way than flying around, aimlessly, looking for a familiar location.”

    “I agree Mary,” Stinky replies. “Do you have a plan?”

     “I hope so,” Mary responded. “We passed a room back there that was full of chairs and tables and other stuff needed to put the final touches on the building. We should go back there and see if there are any maps or signs that might give us a clue about where the room that we are looking for is located.”

     “That seems like a long shot Mary,” Stinky demurred. “We don’t know how much time we have left to find them and get out of here.”

     “Your point is well taken Stinky but we currently have no idea where we are not which way to go from here.,” Mary argued. “Let’s just look around in there for a little while and hope we get lucky.”

     “So are rescue plan now comes down to blind luck,” Stinky stated with disgust.

     “I'm afraid so,” Mary responded with the same level of disgust. “The fact that they plan to cut them up severely limited our options. Actually it left us right where we are, dependent on luck.”

     “Alright, let's go back and take a look,” Stinky capitulated.

     They returned to the room that Mary had seen in passing and were shocked by what they saw. It was much larger than it seemed from the brief glimpse she got of it as she flew by. It was large and crammed full of stuff. There were rows of chairs, stacked almost to the ceiling. Table tops were stacked ten to twelve feet high with the table legs in an immense pile next to them. Then there were the boxes! There was a mountain of boxes, still on pallets. The size of the box mountain was so great that it defied description.

     The expressions on their faces, as they looked at one another, silently said, “There is no way that the two of us are going to do any good in here.”

    They were about to return to their random search pattern when they heard a voice in the corridor outside. It was a man’s voice and he said, “We have got to get them out of here tonight! If Professor Martin gets ahold of them, he will slice and dice them without any thought about their cognitive capacity!”

    Both Mary and Stinky moved over to the door and peered out into the corridor. There was a man and a woman standing there having an animated discussion. “Those are two of the people I saw earlier,” Stinky whispered to Mary. “He was arguing with another guy about what he was going to do with the Hairons. That’s how I found out that they were planning to kill them.”

    The woman replied, “I can sedate them. Then we can put them on dollies, roll them out here and put them into the truck; but then what?

    “I don’t know, “was the professor’s response. “I guess we’ll just have to release them in the woods and let them fend for themselves. At least they’ll have a chance that way.”

    With no warning nor explanation, Mary flew over next to the professor and the woman and took human form.

    The two just stood there, stunned and unable to process what their eyes were telling them. Then the sound came. The woman’s scream would have would have rated high when compared to any ever heard on any movie screen. It was ear piercing! Instinctively Professor MacDaniels pulled her behind him and assumed a defensive posture, feet set and fits up.

    “Whoa!” Mary shouted as she took a quick step backwards and put her open hands up in front of her. “Take it easy! I’m not going to hurt anyone!”

    The professor went on the offensive and stepped forward. “Who are you!” he demanded to know.

    Before Mary could respond, Stinky landed on her shoulder and yelled, “We’re here to help you!”

    Taken aback by Stinky, the professor retreated a step and the woman screamed anew. Assuming a less threatening defensive posture, the professor asked, once more, “Who are you?”

    From behind the professor a, shaky, voice asked, “What do you want?”

    Mary knew, right then, that there was no turning back now. She was going to have to reveal. Information that was forbidden to humans. The goal was to rescue the Hairon children and get them back to their parent's care. That was the mission she was entrusted with and that was the mission she would successfully complete. If it meant breaking the rules; so be it. She would deal with the fallout of that once the children were safe.

    “My name is Mary,” she told them. “This is Stinky,” she added, pointing to her left shoulder.  “I am revealing myself because I believe that we have the same goal and your help would make its, successful, completion infinitely easier. We all want to ensure the safety of the Hairon children.”

    Professor MacDaniels stood there, mouth agape, staring at Mary and Stinky. After a pause, he spoke, “I assume that the, ‘Hairon is it?’, children you seek are the two Bigfoots we are holding the Aquatic Display area?”

    Determining that Mary and Stinky did not pose an immediate threat, Professional MacDaniels relaxed his posture. The woman with him gave a sheepish smile and did the same.

    “That's right sir,” Mary replied. “They belong to a race known as Hairons and, for the most part, have a peaceful nature.”

    “Let me summarize and see if I understand,” Professor MacDaniels suggested. “Your name is Mary and you have a friend who is a Stink bug named, of all things, Stinky. How original.”

    “It’s true!” Mary exclaimed defensively.

    “Let me continue,” the professor said, cutting Mary off. “You and Stinky are here to rescue the Bigfoots, uh I mean Hairons, and return them to safety. You plan to join together with us to achieve that honorable outcome. Did, I leave anything out?”

    Mary scowled at him. “From the tone of your voice I can tell that you are skeptical.

     The professor cut her off again and asserted strongly, “Skeptical? I think you're either criminal or crazy! Connie and I are going to get those Bigfoots out of here, without you, and if you are here when we return, we are going to call Campus Security and the police. If we weren't trying to do this secretly, we would call them right now. So if you don't want to go to jail for trespassing, I suggest you leave immediately. Do you understand?”

    Mary was livid! Trying to maintain her composure Mary explained, “We are here for the same reason as you and have a better plan! If you let those children go without someone to show them how to get home, they will either be captured again or killed!”

    Professor MacDaniels wasn’t listening. “How did you get in here anyway?” he demanded to know.

    “OK Professor,” Mary replied. Her voice was getting louder as she tried to control her anger. “If you aren’t going to listen to reason, maybe this will get your attention.” Before Professor MacDaniel’s and Connie’s eyes. Mary returned to her original form, a praying mantis.”

    They were all used to Connie’s screams by now so it didn’t really register with anyone.

    The professor was not fazed by Mary’s theatrics, “Where are you?” he asked calmly but assertively.

    Mary flew up from the floor and landed on the wall at eye level with the professor. “I’m right here,” she responded.

    “Me too,” said Stinky as he landed next to Mary.

    “What’s going on here? the professor said angrily. “Enough games! I need to get back on task. These little insect models are cute but they don’t change anything. If you’re here when I get back, you’re going to jail! “Professor MacDaniels and Connie turned and walked away.

    “I guess we’re going to have to help them without their permission,” Mary told Stinky. And I’m going to have to do it as a praying mantis because I don’t have enough energy left to be human.”

    The horizon was just beginning to brighten and Norton and Lyman were beginning to get a little worried. This was taking longer than expected and they were starting to see a little activity at the marina.

    “I don’t think that it’s such a good idea for us to sit out here in plain view like this,” Lyman told Norton.

    “I know what you mean,” Lyman replied. “Especially in a stolen boat. Move us beyond that spit of land over there so. at least, we won’t be visible from the marina.”

    “We won’t be able to see when Mary is coming from over there,” Lyman cautioned.

    “When Mary is coming?” Norton said with concern. “I’m beginning to think it’s if Mary is coming.”

    “I was thinking that same thing Norton, “It’s taking them a lot longer than I ever thought it would.  We need to start thinking about what we are going to do if she doesn’t show up with the Bigfoots.”

    “How long do you think we should wait?” Norton asked.

    “Let’s just wait and see what happens,” Lyman told his brother. We can abandon this boat anytime and make our way home.”

    Mary and Stinky followed the professor and Connie though the building, keeping their distance from them. All the structural work was completed on the building and only the cosmetic finishes remained. Each area they passed through was in a different stage of readiness but the whole thing was going to be spectacular once completed. They went through door after door, down corridor after corridor, through section after section until they got to the auditorium that Stinky was in earlier.

    “I know where we are now!” Stinky told Mary. unable to hide his excitement. “The Hairon children are being held right through that door.”

    Mary and Stinky ducked under the door and were startled by what they saw. Professor MacDaniels and Connie were standing in front of the compartment holding Heron and Heron was in a rage. He was banging on the glass and throwing himself against it. His face was twisted up in anger, his eyes blazed and they were certain that he was growling inside the soundproof compartment. Mary knew that she had to do something before Heron hurt himself badly.

    She flew across the room and hovered in front of the professor’s face. “Let me talk to him and calm him down!” she yelled. “You two get away from here!”

    Professor MacDaniels was stunned by Heron’s reaction and seeing Mary put him into sensory overload. With a blank stare on his face, he grabbed Connie’s arm and pulled her away. They both retreated back into the auditorium. Stinky followed them as Mary landed on the window, in front of heron. As soon as Heron saw her he stopped pounding on the glass. She needed to get into the compartment with him and tell him what was going on but she didn’t know how. She left Heron and went into the auditorium to find out how to get into the compartment.

    As soon as the professor saw Mary he leapt to his feet, “Who or what are you?” he demanded to know.

    Mary landed on the seat back of the seat nearest him and shot back at him with the same fury, “Oh! Now you’ll listen!”

    Startled by Mary’s response, the professor calmed down, “I apologize but you must recognize how strange all of this must be to Connie and me.”

    Mary could see his point and she too calmed down, “I hadn’t thought about that,” she admitted. “I’ve been too pre-occupied with freeing the Hairon children.”

    “We want to get them out of here too!” Professor MacDaniels told Mary. “Where is that woman we were talking to before you showed up?”

    “I am that woman,” she told him. “That is the form I take while I am living in this realm. This is my true form. I’m a praying mantis.”

    “Enough games!” said the professor, venting his frustration. “Connie and I have work to do. Let’s go Connie!” Connie and the professor got up and left.

    Mary and Stinky flew after them, trying to get their attention. The professor and Connie just went about their work, disappearing through a door at the far end of the room. Stinky and Mary followed them.

They found themselves in a hallway, perpendicular to the enclosures. They got there, just in time, to see a door, on the left close. Assuming that this is where the professor had gone, they ducked under the door and found themselves behind the enclosures. There was a line of doors, on the left, all the way down the hall. Ahead of them were the professor and Connie. Connie was pushing flatbed dollie.

    “That must be what they are going to move Heron with,” Stinky suggested.

    Mary didn’t respond, she was focused on what was going on ahead of them. Connie stopped the dollie next to one of the doors and the professor unlocked and opened it. Both he and Connie entered, leaving the door open behind them.

    Stinky and Mary moved closer to the open door but did not enter. “Let’s just wait and see what they are doing,” Mary told Stinky.

    “They might need our help,” Stinky suggested.

    “If they do, we’ll be right here,” Mary answered.

    After a few minutes, they began to hear grunting and groaning. As they waited, the grunting and groaning got louder and louder. They finally saw the professor backing out through the door and then saw that he was struggling with, an unconscious, Heron’s head and shoulders. He was trying to carry Heron but instead, he was just dragging him. He’d pull a little and stop, then pull again. Slowly, more and more of Heron was pulled through the door. After a while they saw that Connie was on the other end, trying to contend with Heron’s bottom half. She was having less success than the professor. The best she could do was to keep Heron’s legs from dragging. Having expended a great deal of noisy effort, they were able to get all of Heron into the hallway and next to the dollie. Now they were just standing there, staring at Heron and the dollie.

    “How are they going to get him onto that dollie?” Stinky asked Mary.

    “I have no idea Stinky,” Mary replied. “It appears that they don’t either!”

    Connie was staring at Professor McDaniels, waiting for instructions. “How are we going to get him onto the dollie professor?” she asked.

     After a long pause, the professor finally replied, “Let’s try to lift him Connie. Grab his legs and, on three, lift with all of your might!”

    “I’ll try,” Connie responded nervously.

    “Ok Connie, on three!” Professor MacDaniels instructed. “One, two, three, lift!”

Straining with all their might they got the legs and shoulders off the ground but the rest of him still lay there on the floor.

    Suddenly Heron began to sir!

    “Professor!” screamed Connie. “He’s waking up!”

    Professor MacDaniels just stood there, not saying a word, as Heron began to move his arms and legs in uncontrolled twitches, spasms and jerks. Soon his movements became more controlled and purposeful. Then he opened his eyes.

    Connie made eye contact with Heron and tried to run but he grabbed her by the ankle as she ran past him. Connie’s scream jarred Professor out of his torpor and he looked around for something to use as a weapon against Heron. Finding nothing, the professor began to kick Heron in the side. Heron sprung to his feet, growled and glared at the professor. He let go of Connie’s ankle and moved, slowly, towards the professor. Heron clenched and unclenched his fists as he moved forward. The professor stepped backwards but was soon stopped by the wall.

    Heron was only, about, three feet when the professor put up his hands and yelled, “Stop!”

    Heron’s expression changed from anger to bemusement and he paused for just a second before he continued to move towards Professor MacDaniels. Heron was reaching for the professor until Mary flew in front of his face. Recognizing the praying mantis as an authority figure, he ceased his attack.

    Now that Mary had gotten Heron’s attention and calmed him down, Stinky flew over and landed on his shoulder so he could talk into his ear. “Heron, we are here to rescue you.” Stinky whispered. “No one is going to hurt you!”

    Heron responded in a language that only Mary and Stinky understood, “We have to save Vita!”

    “Of course we are going to rescue her too but we will need your help and cooperation,” Stinky told him.

    “What is he saying?” Professor MacDaniels demanded to know.

    Mary interpreted what was being said.

    “Can I ask him some questions?” the professor asked Mary.

    “I don’t think that would be a very good idea,” Mary warned. “I’d prefer if you and Connie just kept a low profile. If Heron hears you talking, it could set him off again.”

    Connie gasped at the thought of Heron striking out but Professor MacDaniels wasn’t ready to concede quite yet, “I never thought that I would be able to communicate with these specimens and now that I can, I have hundreds of questions!”

    “Specimens?” Mary repeated indignantly. “You still think of him as only a specimen?”

    “Of course not!” Professor MacDaniels said, defending himself. “I am just at a loss for words right now and just trying to keep pace with events.”

    “Just keep back and keep quiet!” Mary stated firmly then flew over to Heron.

    Stinky was ascertain if Heron had sustained any injuries and was convinced that he had not. Even after being sedated several times and restrained with ropes and chains, Heron had no permanent, physical, injuries.

    “I need to get to Vita and make sure that she is ok!” Heron demanded. “I could see her across the room and she didn’t look too good!”

    “We’ll be going over to where she is in just a minute,” Mary promised Heron then turned to Professor MacDaniels and Connie. “Where is your truck?” she asked.

   

    

    

    

 

    

   

    

    

    

     

 

    

    

 

    

    

    

 

  

 

    

 

       

 

    

    

    

    

 

    

    

    

 

    

    

    

    

   

 

    

    

    

 

    

    

     

    

    

 

    

         

    

    

 

    

    

   

   

    

   

 

     

Author's Note

This is the second story in the Bewitched Woods series. A sequel to "The Bewitched Woods"